WorldWide Drilling Resource

U.S. H ghway 331 and the Choctawhatchee Bay Br dge are the on y routes connect ng northern and southern port ons of Wa ton County, F or da. The roadway was ser ous y over trave ed and 274% above ts capac ty eve n the even ng. W th a max mum serv ce vo ume of 690 veh c es per hour, the F or da Department of Transportat on (FDOT) measured a tr p count of 770 veh c es per hour n 2005. Mu t p e acc dents each year proved the excess ve number of veh c es on U.S. 331 posed a da y threat to commuters. Perhaps even more press ng, U.S. 331 s the so e evacuat on route out of south Wa ton dur ng hurr canes. Dr vers prev ous y faced a 30-hour evacuat on t me. When Hurr cane Katr na made andfa n NewOr eans n 2005, w despread mpacts revea ed how unprepared the state of F or da was for a natura d saster of th s magn tude. In response, FDOT began address ng the state s h ghway nfrastructure ssues and expand ng roadways to ensure safety, not on y for day-to-day trave ers, but a so hurr cane evacuees. In 2013, FDOT awarded Skanska USA C v Southeast a $118.5 m on des gn/bu d contract to construct an add t ona two- ane br dge on U.S. 331 (State Road 83) over Choctawhatchee Bay. Madr d Eng neer ng Group, Inc. (MEG) - based n Bartow, F or da, w th a f e d off ce n Panama C ty - was h red as a geotechn ca subcontractor to dr and conduct aboratory test ng to support des gn and construct on of the br dge expans on. About Madrid Engineering Group: MEG has been prov d ng dr ng serv ces to c ents for over 20 years. The company has been tested to the m t on some of the most cha eng ng dr ng jobs n F or da. To date, MEG has successfu y comp eted over 7000 projects, ga n ng exper ence and respect a ong the way to become one of the e te geotechn ca eng neer ng f rms n the Sunsh ne State. MEG has worked w th FDOT and other government agenc es to expand serv ces throughout F or da, tak ng on arger, more cha - eng ng dr ng projects. As a rock cor ng and deep bor ng spec a st, MEG s comm tted to h gh-qua ty dr ng, and ass gns the most qua f ed dr ng profess ona s to each spec f c task to ensure every job s performed w th the utmost ntegr ty and profess ona sm. The Man Behind the Drilling: WWDR was fortunate to catch James Spoon at MEGs Panama C ty off ce. He s the geotechn ca operat ons manager for MEGwho ed dr ng on the Choctawhatchee Bay Br dge Project. He s pass onate about what he does, and was happy to share deta s about dr ng for the Choctawhatchee Bay Br dge Project, as we as some persona n- s ghts from h s exper ence, and adv ce on what t takes to succeed n the ndustry. James Spoon, Geotechnical Operations Manager for MEG. Gateway to the Gulf A WWDR Exclusive 14 APRIL 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®