A Million Cubic Yards of Dirt Moved - and Still Going

On August 1, the Clark team at the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters project celebrated a major project milestone: one million cubic yards of dirt moved. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, representatives from the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) joined the project team to celebrate this significant accomplishment.

The project represents a new record for Clark. Previously, the biggest excavation completed by Clark was at the Walter E Washington Convention Center project. That hole required removing 1.3 million cubic yards of dirt; upon completion, the U.S. Coast Guard’s will have moved more than 1.6 million. Trucks have been hauling dirt an average of 16 to 20 hours a day except on Sundays.

A note of congratulations and picture of the trucker who moved the millionth cubic yard of dirt sat in the background as speakers addressed the crowd filled with a mix of officials, Clark employees, and subcontractors. Truckers ran back and forth with loads alongside the event, stopping to pick up their catered lunches in to-go boxes before picking up their next load.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton

Vice President Lincoln Lawrence welcomed everyone, and noted that it is a rare occasion that a construction project gets to celebrate excavating more than a million cubic yards of dirt. He acknowledged the efforts of everyone who made the milestone possible. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton followed and marveled at the magnitude of the project and its importance to the local community. “This is a real team effort,” she said. “This project is the largest of its kind in the country and the largest since the Pentagon.”

Located within the District of Columbia, a major focus of the project has been hiring local residents. In partnership with GSA, Clark created the onsite Opportunities Center to help local citizens access jobs on the project. Many of the trucking companies used on the project were local companies, including some from Ward 8 where the project is located.

Truckers grabbed their to-go lunches.

Julia Brown Hudson, Regional Administrator for the GSA, Donald G. Bathurst, DHS’ Chief Administrative Officer, and James Bunn, Chairman of the Ward 8 Business Council, also spoke on the importance of the jobs for the nation and the local community.

Images of the U.S. Coast Guard Headquarter's Excavation