Opt-in for Opportunity Corridor 1

Section 2—Progressing Toward CompletionThrough the winter cold and snow, OC2 continued. Substructure construction on the new East 105th Street struc ture over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks and the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority (GCRTA) tracks was the focal point of construction work. Workers plan to erect the structural steel beginning in April.

Roadway work through the new corridor will resume in April. The underground utility work was completed last fall.

The Quincy Avenue/East 105th Street GCRTA Station platform expansion and new access from the East 105th Street bridge will be in full swing in 2018 starting with a series of weekend RTA shutdowns which began in March. The current project completion date is winter 2018. n

Opt-in for Opportunity Corridorand the opportunities it provides

Spring 2018 • Volume 5

Section 3—Contract AwardedThe third and final section of the Opportunity Corridor project has been awarded to the Kokosing Construction Company with a bid amount of $150,858,250. This Value-Based-Design-Build project will build an entirely new road that is approximately 1.8 miles in length on a northeasterly alignment between I-490/East 55th Street and East 93rd Street. Work will begin summer 2018 and is expected to open to traffic fall 2021.

The Ohio Department of Transportation and its partners are committed to local participation and improving inclusion

on this project. Meeting or exceeding set project goals for new, small, local and EDGE business participation in contracting and providing local residents with jobs and training opportunities are important factors for the success of this project and the community.

Just like the two sections preceding it, Section 3 will have a 20 percent goal for diverse contracting and a 20 percent goal for local hiring, which on OC3 includes four percent low income. On-the-Job Training hours for this section increased to 30,000 hours, which is broken down into two subcategories of professional and blue collar. n

Total Substructure

Concrete Used in Past Six

Months

2,652cubic yardsBackfill operations continuing at the rear abutment.

Opt-in for Opportunity Corridor 2

Millwrights Help Make Bridges Right Carpenters Union Local 1090To many, it’s quite possible that the word “millwright” is a for-eign term. In the construction industry, Millwrights are an elite group of construction workers who work primarily in metal and with machinery that requires precision. “A Millwright does anything that’s mechanical,” said Millwright Dan Sivertson. “On the bridges, we set the machinery, shives, motors, and the mechanical portions. We make sure it’s plumb and square.”

Sivertson is also the Business Representa-tive for the Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Regional Council of Carpenters (IKORCC). “I take care of dispatching, organizing and recruitment. I get out ahead of the upcoming jobs, so our contractors are the ones that get the work.” Sivertson is also responsible for jurisdictional issues, representing the members and making sure everything is the way it should be.

Millwrights Pile Drivers Local Union No. 1090 represents approximately 2,500 workers throughout Ohio. Pile Drivers work on pile-driving rigs which are large machines that resemble cranes. Work can include driving or drilling deep foundations to install H Pile, Pipe Pile or Caissons. They also install sheet pile for earth retention and along our waterways. They are typically the first skilled trade on a construction project because the work is underground, whether it’s a building or bridge. Without a good solid founda-tion, the building or bridge could collapse.

Sivertson has been a member of Local 1090 for 23 years, and in his current role for nearly six. “I was a Millwright in the field and a member of the carpenters’ union,” he explains. When

asked how others can become members, he added, “There’s a couple of different ways. We have partnerships with almost 50 schools in Ohio, from high schools to colleges and the Cleve-land Job Corps. Our Career Connections program includes a construction curriculum so that students can have an idea

of construction jobs. You can get in [the union] from Career Connections and move on to the apprenticeship program. We also recruit through trade and welding schools.” Sivertson said their program does not have a recruitment cycle. “Ours is an all year-round open enrollment. We take applications for the Carpenters, Floor Layers, Millwrights and Pile Drivers at all five of our Joint Apprentice Training Centers throughout the state.”

Another program with which the union works is Helmets to Hardhats (H2H). “It’s a program for veterans or people in the armed services. They can get direct entry in the car-

penters’ union or any other skilled trade. Upon discharge, they register on the website, show proof of honorable discharge or that they are still on active duty,” said Sivertson.

“We want people with good attitudes, who are not afraid to go to work, show up every day, are drug free, reliable and will-ing to apply themselves and learn,” Sivertson mentions. “They must come with open minds. We have a lot to teach them. They don’t need experience. Our apprenticeship program is free. We are always looking for people who want to work.”

For more information, please visit www.IKORCC.com n

Dan Sivertson, Business Representative, IKORCC

Learning Life Skills on The Construction SiteFor the past four years, students from Saint Martin de Porres High school spent time interning at The Great Lakes Con-struction Co. (Great Lakes) job sites. They often work one day per week learning about the construction industry and work skills in general. The Opportunity Corridor Section 2 project is no exception with a student now working through the high school’s Corporate Work Study Program.

“We have a strong relationship with Great Lakes, having also had a student working on the innerbelt bridge project,” said Anne Holko, the school’s program account manager. The Cath-olic coeducational high school is in Cleveland’s St. Clair-Supe-rior neighborhood. Students come exclusively from families of limited economic means.

The program helps fund the student’s school tuition. “It’s a critical part of our curric-ulum,” said Holko. “While working, our students learn skills that will help prepare them for college success, or whatever they choose as a future career,” she adds.

Jackie Jacob, the Section 2 contractor diversity lead manager is seen as an extended faculty member who coaches and guides interns as they develop into young professionals. (Continued on page 3)

Opt-in for Opportunity Corridor 3

Tim Bennett: Uncovering a Lifelong CareerTim Bennett is all smiles when he discusses his new career in construction. For four months, Bennett has worked with The Great Lakes Construction Co. (Great Lakes) on the Oppor-tunity Corridor Section 2 project. A general laborer, he works primarily with concrete.

A Ward 6 resident, Bennett found himself bouncing from job to job. He attended the Ohio Technical College studying weld-ing and collision repair. “I found the jobs I was getting weren’t for me,” Bennett said.

Searching for new opportunities, Bennett saw an interviewwith Norman Edwards, President of ACEE/Black Contractors Group on the local show Focus 43. “He was talking about jobs in the construction industry. I followed upand learned about working on the Opportunity Corridor,” he said.

Bennett has finally found a career that he loves. He appre-ciates the opportunity to work on Section 2. “I like working outdoors and with my hands. I love the fact that I can see my results,” he shares.

As a member of Union Local 860, Bennett is in the apprentice program. “I am learning real life skills,” he said.

Bennett sees big machines in his future. “I want to learn how to run the bobcat, loaders, machines like that,” he said. “Maybe one day—become an operator. I want to work in this field forever.”

Working with Great Lakes has added to Bennett’s positive construction experience. “I am always telling Greg

“Our student has been a nice addition to our team, even for the short time he is with us each week. He is quick to get tasks completed and to offer to do more. He asks questions regarding the work being done to increase his knowledge of the project and the construction industry,” said Jacob.

What do you like about the construction field?Student:* I like the people. Everyone is close knit. I also like the fact that there is an endless amount of fun new things to learn and how things are built.

What do you like about interning at the Great Lakes?I enjoy being able to go out onto the job site and see the progress being made right in front of me. I have also learned

how it’s all put together behind the scenes.

What have you learned while working at Great Lakes? I have learned a lot about how the labor unions work and how each type of worker (foremen, laborers, operators, etc.) has their own role in getting the job done.

What are your future career plans? I plan to join the police force and get onto the SWAT team. My goal is to join the FBI afterwards.

*Due to the age of this student, their name is being omitted.

For more information about St. Martin de Porres’ Corporate Work Study Program, visit www.SaintMartinCleveland.com/work-study n

Learning Life Skills on The Construction Site(Continued from page 2)

[Wisniewski], the project Superintendent, how much I like working. He showed me love from day one. When I work, I am so busy that it’s time to go home and I don’t realize how much time has gone by,” he chuckles. n

Tim Bennett on construction site.

Opt-in for Opportunity Corridor 4

Subcontractor ProfileThe Construction Green Team is an Encouraging Diversity, Growth and Equity (EDGE) certified company through the Ohio Department of Administration Services. An EDGE participant must be a small socially and economically disadvantaged business enterprise owned and controlled by U.S. citizens who are Ohio residents.

The Construction Green TeamIn 2016, Margaret Hewitt started a company to support owners, architects and contractors as they become more environmentally conscious. “The Construction Green Team is a sustainability consulting firm that specializes in the construction industry. We work to improve the impact of construction on the environment by reducing waste, energy and water con-sumption. We do this using “Green Rating” systems such as LEED, Envision and INVEST,” Hewitt explains.

On the Opportunity Corridor Section 2 (OC2) Project, The Construction Green Team is responsible for certifying the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (GCRTA) platform at E. 105th Street and Quincy Avenue using the Green Globes rating system. Green Globes is one of the many “Green Rating” systems used as a measure of sustainability in construction. This tool enables a focus on sustainability, envi-

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ronmental improvements and evaluating design scenarios.

“Working on this project has helped our company in several ways,” said Hewitt. “It has grown our relationship with The Great Lakes Construction Co., it has started to develop our relationship with GCRTA, it has given us the opportunity to perform as an EDGE company, and it has allowed us to develop our expertise using a different “Green Rating” system.”

EDGE-certified companies are often afforded opportunities to grow their businesses to the point of ensuring economic sus-tainability. “Our EDGE certification has given us an opportunity to work on this project in a niche position that, if being an EDGE company had not given us the visibility to be selected for the team, we might have missed otherwise,” mentions Hewitt. n

Margaret Hewitt, President