Three Hurricanes Disrupt MIA Contractors

by Natalie Keith

Along with the usual obstacles of airport construction, the South Terminal Development project at MIA has been faced with hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan.

In the span of a month, the Miami area has braced itself for three hurricanes, all Category 4 or higher. While Miami was sparred a direct hit in all three cases, the storm threats were enough to wreck havoc on the construction site.

"It has stopped work three times already," said Gilberto Neves, Odebrecht Construction executive vice president and construction manager of Parsons-Odebrecht Joint Venture. "It has been very disrupting to the job."

When the area is facing a hurricane threat, the construction team follows an established procedure. After meeting with aviation officials, the team walks the site to determine what measures must be taken to secure it. Among those measures are lowering cranes, ensuring that the site can withstand hurricane-force winds without debris falling from it and ensuring that rainwater can flow through the site.

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"A major concern is that it's not just a construction site, it's an airport," Neves said. "It's important not to create obstacles to traffic in the site. I stress that to my people all the time."

Currently there are 860 employees on the job and their efforts are critical to preparing the site for a hurricane. But it is also important to allow workers to evacuate the site so they can assist their families with hurricane preparation.

"It's cost us a lot of pain and money," Neves said.

After the hurricane has passed, it takes workers a few days to restore the site to conditions adequate to resume work.