April, 28 2011
Glade Spring, VA
On Thursday, April 28th, 2011, a devastating EF-3 tornado struck the small town of Glade Spring, VA. The twister, approximately 3/4 mile wide, continued for 25 miles directly through the heart of the small community. Each of the town’s 1500 residents will be greatly affected, but some even lost their lives in this horrific storm.

Tucked away on the hills on the outskirts of town, is a 500kV, double-bundle, steel tower transmission line that continues for miles beyond the affected area. So far, 14 steel towers have been found flattened by the storm, while dozens of others have been crippled with damage. The very heavy 2049 ACAR double-bundle conductor fell across many smaller transmission and distribution power lines. American Electric Power (AEP) contacted Dillard Smith Construction seeking assistance with the damaged lines. Our crews arrived Friday morning following the storm and worked late into the night trying to restore power to the area. The 500Kv lines fell across a 69kV transmission line, which also tore it down. Our crews were able to restore the 69kV line over the weekend as well as restoring several smaller distribution lines that were damaged by the much heavier 500kv. The joint effort of AEP, Dillard Smith Construction, and countless other companies and volunteers helped to restore power to much of the town in just a couple of days. To a majority of the community however, power may be the least of their concerns. Countless homes and businesses were leveled by the storm. Herds of livestock were reduced in numbers, and many residents lost their way of transportation.

Dillard Smith Construction Company is only one of many companies in the area helping to begin the rebuilding process. Our first tasks will be removing the fallen 500kV towers and damaged conductor. Currently, our crews are working to cut the towers and conductor into smaller pieces to be flown out via helicopter where they can be further dismantled and recycled. Hopefully, this process can be completed in a few short weeks, but the rebuild of the fallen line could take several months. No matter the circumstances, one thing is certain: Dillard Smith Construction will be available to help resurrect the community.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families who lost love ones in this tragedy. God Bless!
March-October 2011
Roanoke, VA
In early 2011, Dillard Smith Construction Company was contracted by American Electric Power (AEP) to begin construction on a 4.5 mile double circuit 138kV transmission line located near Roanoke, VA.
This project consists of 18 new structure installations with grillage foundations and utilizes 1590 ACSR conductor. Typical of this area of the U.S., this line travels across very mountainous terrain and has elevation changes from one structure to the next of nearly 600 feet. It is due to this high elevation atop Poor Mountain in Virginia that AEP has had problems with an existing 138kV line. Strong winds and heavy ice loading has crumpled their steel towers causing catastrophic failure to the line accompanied with extended power outages in the area.

In an effort to battle the wind and ice, AEP's engineering group is implementing a new, heavy duty T4 steel tower design to parallel their existing tower line. Of the 18 new structures that Dillard Smith crews will be erecting, 10 of them are the new T4 design and are located along the face of the mountain. Some of these steel towers have as much as 40 feet of elevation difference from one side of the tower to the other. With weights exceeding 75,000 lbs and reaching nearly 160 feet into the sky, mobilizing a large enough crane up the mountain may not be feasible. As such, our crews may be forced to assemble the towers in place. As our crews travel up the mountain, rock excavation will also become a construction issue. The use of dynamite blasting will most likely be needed and will require more specialized employees.


Issues such as the terrain and constructability aren't the areas of concern when it comes to crew safety. Spring weather can bring severe rain and lightning, the Summer months introduce numerous Rattle Snakes to the newly cleared powerline right-of-way, and the late Summer- early fall months are accompanied by scorching heat. Since this site is somewhat remote and getting up or down the mountain can take up to 45 minutes, our Safety Department has contacted all the local hospitals and Emergency Medical Services to help create a site specific safety plan which will aid in minimizing the severity of an on-site injury should something ever occur. The Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department has been on-site on several occasion to familiarize themselves with our work locations. We have provided 911 dispatch and EMS with maps and GPS locations of each work site to reduce travel time and confusion in the event an emergency response be needed. Each of our employees has taken an OSHA training course and at least one person on every crew has been trained in first aid and CPR. These are just a few examples of how Dillard Smith Construction Company makes employee safety our number one priority.


Traversing the mountainous terrain and safely constructing transmission lines of this nature is nothing new to Dillard Smith Construction Company. Many utilities have looked to us in the past for our expertise in this area. We offer highly trained employees skilled in safely constructing the most difficult of transmission lines. Along with an experienced work force, we also offer in-depth Project Management services to help track, forecast, and communicate project status with all parties involved. Our hope is to continue developing these services to meet the ever expanding needs of power utilities.


Project Status

3/29/2011: Foundation installation began in early March, 2011 and continues to go as planned. Some of these grillages are installed as deep as 18 feet and require the removal of almost 6,000 cu. ft. of soil. Steel deliveries are arriving at the port in Norfolk from their long journey from Brazil. They are sorted and brought to the job-site where our crews are assembling foundations and trucking them to the sites on the mountain. Tower erection is anticipated to begin within the next few weeks.

CHECK BACK SOON FOR MORE PROJECT UPDATES!


Spring 2011
Southwest Florida
During the spring of 2011 the final phase resumes on a unique project in southwest Florida that demonstrates the expanded service offerings that differentiate Dillard Smith from its competitors. To fully understand the impact of our approach and execution of this project with regard to work procedure, materials, schedule, and even system control and coordination, it’s best to review how the project was initially presented in the RFP.

In December of 2009, Dillard Smith Construction Company received an invitation to bid on a 48-mile, 230 kV transmission line re-build/reconductor project for Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. The project consisted of replacing 208 existing steel H-frame structures with monopole steel structures and upgrading the conductor from 2156 ACSR to 2156 ACSS. The completion schedule outlined within this particular RFP was aggressive and provided a number of logistical challenges. The milestones and deliverables as originally conceived by the customer were as follows:

The result of this uneven schedule would have required large resource commitments for relatively short periods of time to meet the needed deliverable dates. Instead, Dillard Smith proposed a work plan in which it would complete the structure replacement and conductor transfer throughout the summer months without requiring a service outage. From the contractor’s perspective, this would allow for a more even distribution and management of resources, productivity, and safety. From the customer’s perspective, this would eliminate the cost to purchase or redirect power from alternative sources and allow for greater system stability in what can be a fragile grid of energy transmission. Ultimately, the utility customer receives a safe, reliable and quality project which exceeds the original schedule at a better value.

The work procedure was approved and the project began construction in March 2010. Throughout the following spring and summer, crews worked installing foundations, framing poles, replacing structures, and transferring conductor, all while providing uninterrupted service to the customer. By October 2010, the structures were complete, and the line was de-energized for reconductor activities. Over the next five weeks, three separate wire crews worked simultaneously to complete as much of the reconductor as possible during the granted outage. To aid in improving the efficiency of the operation, Dillard Smith introduced the customer to the IMPLO line of Burndy products. These units were used to streamline the installation of in-line sleeves and deadends. Requiring a fraction of the time to install and enabling sleeves to be installed at the wire/tensioner end of the pull before traveling through dollies allowed crews to maximize use of the outage provided. When the outage was complete, the crew of approximately 60 men met and even exceeded the major schedule milestones without a safety incident and had completed 36.5 miles of the 48 mile project. The graphic below depicts the productivity, work continuity, and system impact advantages that Dillard Smith added to this project.

The impact of this course of action has already saved the customer one of its planned outages and has resulted in completion of 50% more of the line than originally expected by the end of the 2010 fall outage. As Dillard Smith looks to carry this success into the final phase of construction, it will continue to partner with customers, take on challenges, and expand the expectations of what it means to provide powerful solutions.