Kleinfelder was selected by the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) to provide engineering services for construction materials testing, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) oversight, and special inspections for the LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE) Northeast Corridor Light Rail. The project consists of the design and construction of approximately 9.3 miles of a double-track light rail line with 11 new stations.

Multiple Contractors and a Tight Project Schedule

This project is being executed in over 15 separately advertised and awarded construction contracts and carries a tight construction schedule, meaning multiple separate contractors are working in the same area to complete the overall project on schedule. Extremely tight coordination and efficient scheduling of resources is necessary for the success of this project. The rail corridor travels over several miles and jurisdictions with varying construction requirements.

Maintaining Compliance Through Teamwork

Charged with providing QA/QC construction materials testing and special inspection services for this project, Kleinfelder created an in-house electronic data collections system to help reduce the risk of error on the project. Field reports and testing records are automatically named using a number of different unique project specific work elements that not only assure consistency and accuracy of the filed record, but also allow for ease of searching and retrieving them from the database. In addition, Kleinfelder developed independent test plans (ITPs) to detail the testing requirements and frequencies for each contract of the project which include both standard specification and third party criteria to ensure utmost quality and compliance.

Project Results

Kleinfelder’s in-house electronic data collection system provides the client inspection and testing results within 48 hours allowing prompt and effective resolutions to potential issues. The system’s automatic naming convention provides accurate and consistently named documents which saves substantial amounts of time in searching and retrieving project information.

Project Details

Location:
Charlotte, North Carolina

Owner:
Charlotte Area Transit System