Located at the center of the fastest growing county in the United States, Watford City, North Dakota was in desperate need for new education facilities following the boom of the Bakken oil fields. With the rapid growth, McKenzie County School District put forth an aggressive plan to build a state-of-the-art high school and event center that would meet the current and future needs of the school district. Having worked on numerous k-12 project in North Dakota such as Erik Ramstad Middle School in Minot and Prairie Rose Elementary in Dickinson, Braun Intertec was called to help solve the unique challenges that the project faced.
Smack dab in the middle of the project site was a 50-foot hill which needed to be removed in order to begin work on the foundation for the buildings. The civil engineer worked with us on three concepts in a very short timeline which allowed the project to stay on schedule while making the best use of the soil conditions of the site.
During the two years of building, Braun Intertec provided excellent representatives to evaluate and solve issues as they arose, often on the very same day. The rapid schedule of the project was a challenge Braun Intertec was eager to face. With the plan in place, it was time to remove the hill and prepare the site for construction. During the removal, our geotechnical engineers observed the earthwork and excavation of the hill.
The other major challenge facing the project was the severe cold weather of western North Dakota. Temperatures were routinely so cold that the client resorted to using ground thaw heaters to continue work through the winter months. During the construction of the facilities, our construction materials testing technicians performed special inspections on the structural and reinforcing steel of the building’s frame, making sure the frame was structurally sound and the steel was installed to design.
At the same time, our building and structure sciences team evaluated the heating and cooling efficiency by testing the windows for air infiltration. In addition, a fire stop inspection was performed to provide quality control and fire safety. By the time of completion, residents of Watford City and Braun Intertec representatives alike found a swell of pride when looking at their beautiful new facility.
Innovative solutions to complex challenges helped keep the construction schedule on target. Delivering on our mission of being the consultant of choice for k-12 projects in North Dakota. Now open, the 160,000 square foot high school is able to accommodate approximately 800 students from grade seven to twelve with modern classrooms, multimedia centers, and athletic fields.
