Sterling subsidiary lands $80M runway revamp deal

ConDig (21-Apr-20).  A subsidiary of Texas-based civil contractor Sterling Construction Co has secured a $80 million contract to upgrade the Bucholz Army airfield runway in the Kwajalein Atoll of the Marshall Islands.

Under the subcontracting deal with the Parsons Corporation, Road and Highway Builders LLC will pave a 200 foot by 6,000 foot runway in order to accommodate increased air traffic.

Sterling said that phasing will allow the runway to remain operational during construction as the strategic significance of the airfield does not allow reconstruction to close the runway. 

The logistics portion of the project has started that involves the transportation of aggregates, other materials and equipment to the airfield. 

The reconstruction project is estimated to be completed by mid-2021.

“We are honored to have been selected to efficiently and safely improve the Bucholz Army Airfield, a critical strategic post for the U.S. military’s Pacific presence,” said Joe Cutillo, Sterling’s CEO. 

“RHB has expertise in this type of terrain and remote working environment that can be brought to bear on this reconstruction. This project is yet another example of Sterling continuing to successfully execute our strategy of diversification away from the low-bid heavy highway business and illustrates the strength of our end markets, especially in these highly uncertain times.”

The Marshall Islands are a chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the central Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and the Philippines. They are an associated state of the US.

Earlier this month, a Sterling subsidiary secured a $26.4 million structural concrete contract on a multi-use development project in Utah.

Last month, a subsidiary of Sterling landed a $20.3 million contract to revamp a bridge along a stretch of California State Highway 101 in San Francisco.

In November, a subsidiary of Sterling Construction landed a $22 million deal to revamp and expand a roadway in San Antonio, Texas. 

In August, Sterling announced that it was set to acquire Austell, Georgia-based specialty contractor Plateau Excavation, Inc in a deal worth $400 million.