Manafort Brothers Incorporated was selected as the Design Build Contractor by the City of New Haven for the Downtown Crossing Phase 3 project in New Haven, CT. This project was the City’s first design-build project and it required an accelerated schedule allowing only six months to complete a Release for Construction Design to support a twenty-week closure duration for the complete reconstruction of South Frontage Road and Congress Avenue.

The project scope included all required design, including extensive maintenance of traffic measures, extensive road reconfiguration and reconstruction of South Frontage Road, Congress Avenue, and the Service Drives to the Air Rights Garage, accommodations for future planned bridge structures, new utility installation, relocation of existing utilities, permanent sheeting retaining walls, new southern concrete substructure for the future Temple Street Bridge, Rammed Aggregate Pier ground improvements for the future northern substructure of the future Temple Street Bridge, traffic and pedestrian signalization of the South Frontage Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard intersections, new street lighting, signage, and line striping.

This detailed urban roadway design build project required extensive and regular coordination with the City of New Haven and the two separate major ongoing building construction projects directly adjacent to the Downtown Crossing project. The Manafort Design Build Team was able to complete the design to commence construction in the allotted closure period. As part of this process, Manafort and the City of New Haven worked as a team to successfully navigate through Right of Way, Utility, and 3rd party needs, while resequencing and accelerating certain activities to keep the project on schedule. Despite the many challenges, Manafort was able to successfully deliver the project under budget and 46 days ahead of schedule. This project is a great example of what can be accomplished when all major stakeholders work and collaborate in true partnership form.