The Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project is monitored by over 20 agencies, abides by over 30 permits and must comply with nearly 1400 special conditions on a daily basis. The permit tracking for 24 nearly simultaneous construction contracts spanning three jurisdictions and under the scrutiny of multiple agencies is a very intricate procedure. Agency permits, acquired prior to actual construction define limits of impact and methods for construction. Wetland, waters of the US , forests, and endangered species impacts are quantified and authorized under their respective agencies.

To manage this monumental task the Permit Tracking Database System was developed and has been instrumental in keeping the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project moving forward successfully. The system utilizes a MS Access database that stores all permits and special conditions. Special conditions exist to control specific activity, such as open water dredging time of year restrictions. The database system is also used to track permitted impacts to waters and wetlands of the United States before and throughout construction through the use of contract-specific impact tracking sheets.

Figure 1. Permit conditions and their jurisdictions

Impact Tracking

In fact, the database was instrumental in recording impacts for the recently closed Foundations Contract, which saved 3.4 acres of impact within the Potomac River . Utilizing the database, the project was able to track impacts throughout construction and keep track of the wetlands and waters that remained intact. As such, the project strove to minimize impacts throughout construction by minimizing fill, constructing foundations in pairs, and by replacing a pier and bulkhead with a smaller bulkhead and floating barge. 42% of the areas permitted to be impacted were saved on the Foundations Contract as tracked by the database.

Database Development

In the planning stages of the Project, interactive sessions were conducted in which neighborhood task forces and interested parties from across the area provided their comments, questions and concerns regarding the design of the bridge and the interchanges, as well as the implementation of the design in the construction phase. The Project's responses to comments, questions, and concerns were integrated into the Project's Record of Decision, which in turn was integrated into the permit tracking database along with all of the other agency permits.

Figure 2. Distribution of conditions

Permit Compliance

Through the database reporting system, permit information has been communicated from the regulatory agencies and the public, to the contractors, consultants, and inspectors in the field through the use of contract-specific tracking reports. The reports select contract-specific conditions from different agencies and jurisdictions. The tracking report is submitted prior to bid for each contract, and is prepared and submitted again once the contract is complete, in order to comment on the compliance process for the particular contract and close the permit tracking process. Coordination is enhanced as all participating entities can reference the database reports for permit compliance. The tracking database has been indispensable to the environmental compliance of the Project and is at least partially responsible for the fact that no major fines, violations, or shutdowns have been reported to date.

How Do You Ensure 17 Permits and Over 1300 Individual Permit Conditions Are Met?
With a Dedicated Environmental Compliance Team and more than 10 pairs of eyes monitoring construction activity!

Daily work flow to ensure permit compliance.
Murphy's law doesn't take a holiday for construction projects. Even though there were dozens of professional engineers, designers, and members of the public who worked for years designing the project, minimizing environmental impacts, acquiring the permits and ensuring that all moved smoothly, actual construction always brings unforeseen and unplanned for events.

During construction, there remains a full time team of environmental professionals, whose sole duty is to prevent unauthorized environmental impacts and to quickly respond to issues which have the potential to adversely impact the environment. These teams are multi-dimensional, incorporating responsible contractor personnel, PCC environmental and engineering team members, agency compliance officers, and independent environmental monitors.

On a daily basis personnel from the contractor staff, certified by the appropriate state agency in land disturbance, review the work site, looking for, erosion and sediment control measures in working condition. Where appropriate, such as heavy snow fall damaging silt fencing around the project, the contractor repairs or replaces the control measures.

Also on a daily basis, certified environmental inspectors on the project review all contracts for erosion and sediment control compliance. In addition, environmental professionals, including the PCC Team and the Independent Monitor Team conduct advanced action meetings. During frequent progress meetings and monthly partnering meetings the team discusses upcoming construction activities and implications to neighborhoods, the environment, and contractor work-load. During these meetings, invaluable information is disseminated to allow environmental team members to assist the contractor staff in minimizing authorized impacts to the surrounding environment and to ensure work activities will comply with all applicable permits.

As an added quality assurance layer, scheduled and unscheduled agency reviews are conducted within the project. Members from state departments such as VDOT and MDE conduct regular site inspections to ensure compliance. Federal agency members such as the Army Corp of Engineers and EPA also conduct reviews.

At times, when those unforeseen impacts are encountered, the entire environmental team, from contractor staff to federal agency members work to reduce, minimize and/or eliminate the impacts.