当Superior Construction Co.在2017年正式赢得了2.34亿美元的Wekiva 6合同时，这很重要。首先，佛罗里达州的运输合同是有史以来80年的最大公司。但是对于民用和运输承包商来说，赢得了这项工作来建造Wekiva River Bridge（佛罗里达州中部备受瞩目的Wekiva Parkway项目的标志性元素），而不仅仅是数字。
毕竟，这是该公司的第三份Wekiva Parkway合同，在当时授予的六个合同中。相反，正如熟悉25英里长的走廊项目所知的任何人所知道的那样，Wekiva 6在“狂野和风景秀丽的河流”上包含了美国最环保的桥梁项目之一。新利18备用网址几十年来，穿越一直是环保主义者抗议活动的焦点，使庞大的走廊无法建造。
“It’s a project that a lot of people have had exposure to over the years,” says Pete Kelley, company president. Now that it’s finally under construction, “It definitely has a lot of eyes watching it,” he says.
To Superior officials, though, Wekiva 6 meant something else. To them, it confirmed the midsize contractor’s long-planned strategy to grow in size based on the firm’s strength in constructing complex bridge structures, something that would expand its reputation as well.
“We looked at the Wekiva corridor about how deliberate we’ve been about geographic expansion,” Kelley says. The timing was right, too. In roughly 2015, just before the Wekiva Parkway corridor project began to move forward, Superior was finally ready to enter the Orlando-area market. And when it was time to bid Section 6, Superior officials eyed the contract’s complex, three-span river crossing project keenly.
凯利解释说：“ Wekiva 6项目非常密集，这就是引起我们兴趣的原因。”自我执行项目的能力很大程度上是与公司在公司在一起多年的工新利18备用网址人的能力，使该公司能够充满信心地解决此类项目，凯利（Kelley）和其他人与ENR联系的其他人以此为证明。新利18备用
Including 18 bridges in all, the project includes three cast-in-place segmental box bridges over the Wekiva plus three other wildlife bridges totaling nearly 7,700 ft in length. The overall contract spans roughly six miles. Construction is roughly 25% complete to date.
“We’ve assembled a really solid group out there, from the leadership all the way down into the trades,” Kelley says. “It’s a highly visible project.
凯利谈到该项目时说：“一切现在都在点击所有气缸。”但是他可以为公司总体讲话。
The Jacksonville, Fla.-based contractor reported a 48% gain in 2017 revenue for the Southeast, with a total of about $238.2 million. That’s one of the largest percentage gains on this year’s Southeast Top Contractors ranking.
这只是Superior Construction Co. Southeast获得ENR东南年度承包商认可的原因之一。新利18备用
In the last roughly 18 months, Superior Construction has expanded, opening three new offices: first in Tampa, followed by Nashville and most recently in Charleston, S.C. Though those offices opened in rapid succession, the contractor’s growth plan had been put in place several years ago.
尼克·拉尔古拉（Nick Largura）是高级公司的32岁首席执行官，也是该公司创始人约翰·拉尔古拉（John Largura）的曾孙。
“In the past, we had used a regional office to pursue work in adjacent cities, and we struggled because there was always a focus on (just) what was going on in our backyard,” Largura says. The fact that Orlando and Tampa are in different FDOT districts was another factor.
Also nudging Superior into Tampa was PCL Civil Constructors’ decision to close its office there.
拉古拉说：“这绝对是这一决定的一部分。”Superior能够与前PCL工人一起填补大多数员工。
拉尔古拉说，纳什维尔是纳什维尔的，这是对坦帕的类似方法的结果，即“确定我们看不到主要参与者的市场，并希望（我们可以）在不必购买我们的市场的情况下建立立足点。”
然后，看到查尔斯顿的基础设施投资的需求越来越多，随着其扩大的港口，苏必利郡在那里开设了办公室。尽管尚未为城市所需的基础设施工作提供资金，但“公司战略的一部分是要提前对工作的需求，” Largura说。
Rare Skill Set
Superior’s design partners see the contractor as ably filling a niche.
总部位于西棕榈滩的工程公司Wantman Group总裁David Wantman说：“他们与一些高级人士的自我表现能力使他们对项目具有非常独特的看法。”新利18备用网址优越的另一个因素是，高级高管密切参与其项目的事实。新利18备用网址在追求工作时，这种参与会有所作为。
“他们的领导团队弄脏了手，”旺曼说。“他们花费大量时间参加会议，了解项目，谈论最小的细节，以确保他们竞争性投标，并确切地知道[他们]成功时将要建立什么？”赢新利18备用网址得合同。
“这不是一群人做伴奏any that builds complex structures,” Wantman says. “It’s a bunch of people who have built complex structures running a company. There’s a big difference there.”
Gene Howerton, vice president with Arcadis, agrees, adding that the long-term status of Superior’s construction teams increases the contractor’s expertise overall, while aiding with communication.
豪顿说：“他们有很多人进行桥梁建设已有很长时间了。”“他们作为一个团队一起工作得很好。”
数字建模
Superior’s attitude and effort toward embracing the use of digital models in construction is perhaps greater than most other transportation contractors, says Howerton. Arcadis served as the lead engineer on Superior’s recently completed SR 9B Phase 2 project in Jacksonville. That project won an award of merit in ENR Southeast’s most recent Best Projects contest.
现在，Howerton与Arcadis一起建立SR 9B的第三阶段，说承包商正在使用机器控制，以在最新项目的各个方面，包括沥青和混凝土铺路工作。
Finally, Superior is taking steps elsewhere within the company to adapt. In 2017, the company instituted a wellness plan that includes a program for monitoring employees’ biometrics—i.e., weight, blood pressure and cholesterol. If employees opt into the biometrics monitoring, the company provides greater subsidies for their insurance costs.
Admitting that this is a “challenging issue,” Largura says the concept of improving employees’ health is the right thing to do. Largura, whose father died while still working for the firm, adds that there’s a practical reason for the program.
毕竟，他说：“我们有很多工作要做。”
