Medina US 42 Widening Project Wins 2019 Don Conaway Partnering Award

Left to Right: Eric Calvert, District 3 Area Engineer; Scott Turchek, District 3 Project Engineer D3; Dennis Grippi, DiGioia Suburban General Superintendent

ODOT District 3, DiGioia Suburban Excavating, the City of Medina & Euthenics Win Award for US 42 Widening Project

The 2019 Conaway Conference, hosted by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio Contractors Association (OCA), was held in Columbus, Ohio on February 26-27, 2019. This annual event hosts project teams from around the state who have exemplified best practices and partnering values in the construction industry.

ODOT District 3 won the 2019 Don Conaway Partnering Award for the US 42 Widening Project in the City of Medina. The project re-built and widened the roadway; along with installing new storm sewers, sidewalks and a multi-use path. Project Team members included:

• ODOT District 3
• Prime Contractor DiGioia-Suburban Excavating LLC
  • Burton Scot Contractors, LLC – Asphalt Pavement Subcontractor
  • Smith Paving & Excavating, Inc. – Concrete Roadway & Curbs Subcontractor
  • Trafftech, Inc. – Traffic Maintenance, Pavement Markings, Traffic Signals Subcontracto
  • Reumac Stabilization, LLC – Cement Stabilization Subcontractor
  • JMD Transport – Trucking Subcontractor
  • Garcia Surveyors – Surveying Subcontractor
• City of Medina
• Euthenics – Designer

US 42 at Reagain Parkway north during construction Feb. 2017 (left) and end construction Dec. 2018 (right)

The Project Team demonstrated and understood the importance of establishing project, communication and problem-solving goals. Each party credits the other with being a great partner and working well together to build a successful job. A “Project First” mindset was shared among all members of the team. As a team, they decided that from day one of the job, it could be a good job, or it could be a horrid job, but it all depended on how they decided to communicate and treat each other.

Effective partnering maintains a safe project site, maximizes public value and contractor profitability, builds the project on-time and within budget, minimizes inconvenience to the traveling public and business community, and develops a work environment that promotes mutual respect. The team faced numerous challenges, but all parties focused on completing the work in an efficient and effective manner. Overall, the Project Team was able to identify and address all problems, resolve those problems at the lowest level when possible, and communicate with each other at the highest level of cooperation and respect for one another. That type of partnership is a recipe for success—which ultimately led to the recognition, and well deserved, 2019 Don Conaway Partnering Award.

Please join us in congratulating the Project Team for their hard work and outstanding partnership with one another. The US 42 Widening Project is a testament to ODOT’s vision to a long-term, reliable, professional and highly productive organization. Congratulations and great job to everyone involved!

The video of the Project Team discussing their partnering efforts can be found here.

US 42 aerial shots during construction (left) and after construction (right)