A team of University of Arkansas at Little Rock students recently took third place at an international organization’s construction competition.

The UA Little Rock squad — made up of students from the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering — participated in the Heavy Civil category of the Associated Schools of Construction Region 5 International Student Construction Competition.

Students had to prepare a project cost estimate, develop a schedule, answer questions dealing with contracts and specification issues, and fill out and submit a complete bid package. Any form that was not completed properly would lead to disqualification.

“The Heavy Civil competition is as close to real world as the contractors can get without the students actually building the project,” said Michael Tramel, professor and chair of the UA Little Rock Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering.

Region 5 includes colleges and universities offering two- and four-year construction management, science, and technology degrees in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

During the 16-hour estimating and bidding process portion of the competition Saturday, Feb. 18, in the College of Engineering and Information Technology building, the UA Little Rock team was confined to a room and could not have outside contact except to order and receive food.

Team members then traveled to Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, Feb. 19, presented to the judges on Monday, Feb. 20, and returned on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

UA Little Rock’s team consisted of Casey Baker, Joseph Eggburn, Julie Sanders, Shannon Shields, Dylan Singleton, and Drew Potter.  The team was coached by Instructor Larry Blackmon.

Baker was recognized as one of the best presenters for the Heavy Civil Division, taking a second-place award out of 48 presenters.

“The team and Larry Blackmon represented Arkansas, UA Little Rock, EIT, and the Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering Department at the exceptional level and are a testimony to the Arkansas Construction Industry,” Tramel said.

Personnel from McCarthy Building Companies provided the competition’s construction problem — a half-mile section of an I-30  interchange in Fort Worth, Texas — and conducted the judging.

The competition required participants to develop a plan to tunnel underneath I-30, while working with an active railway.

Teams had to bid and schedule work for storm drains, utilities, retaining walls, sidewalks, concrete paving, and drill shafts.

Soil conditions were among the greatest challenges, with a total excavation of more than 50,000 cubic yards that needed to be removed, at a depth of 7 feet. There also were restrictive working hours and air pollution limits.

The Highway Division of the Arkansas Associated General Contractors donated the cost of the UA Little Rock team’s travel expenses, and Rogers Group Inc. donated the team’s shirts.

In addition to UA Little Rock, participating universities included John Brown, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas A&M Commerce, Texas Tech, North Texas, and Texas State.