Article on Construction of Tiger Exhibit at San Francisco Zoo

1. PROJECT
SPOTLIGHT
YerboBuenoComesThrough SF7oo
for
AGC ControctorSteps to CompleteEmergency
Up
Controctto Renovote
TigerExhibit
ByCorolEoton
When the San Francisco Zoo needed a
contractorit could dependon to perform
emergency work following a Christmas
Day tragedyat the facility,it turned to
AGC memberYerbaBuenaEngineering &
Construction, to getthe job done.
Inc.
The highly publicizedtragedyat the
zoo involved the escape and attack by a
Siberian tiger on threezoo patrons, result-
ing in the deathof one man and the injury
to two otherson the eveningof December
25, 2007.Immediatesafetyimprovements
were neededbefore the exhibit could safe-
ly reopento the public.
SanFrancisco-based BuenaEngi-
Yerba
neering& Constructionhad recently
completedanother major project at the
body understoodthe seriousness what of
Zoo involving work to bring major sentsa sourceof pride in more than one
hashappened wantsthe city to be able respect.
componentsof the facility into compli- and
to shine as it alwayshas.The attitude is quot;We feel proud as an AGC contractor
ancewith the Americanswith Disabilities
just, let's get it done for ourselves
Act (ADA) requirements. that project and for that we were calledto help the city out
On
the city.quot; when it neededour help, not necessarily
and others, the company has earned a
T h e p r o j e c t e n t a i l e de x t e n d i n gt h e because are a minority firm but because
r e p u t a t i o n f o r q u a l i t y ,i n t e g r i t y a n d we
- moat wallsaround
height of the concrete we are a go-to contractor,somebodythat
dependability one it hascultivated an on
the tiger exhibit from 12.5to 16.4feet,to took it seriouslyand would make sure it got
arrayof public sectorprojectscompleted
meet the guidelines the Association of quot;That's really important to
of done,quot;he says.
in the BayArea sincethe companyopened
us - being recognized somebodywho can
Zoos and Aquariums. Glazingand fencing
for business 2002. in as
the
on top of the walls further raises height go to in a pinch.quot; #
Yerba Buena presidentand founder
of the barriersto 19 feet.Other compo-
Miguel Galarzareceiveda call from city
nentsof the project included a storm
officialson December3l to discuss the
new paving,elec-
sewer, irrigationsystem,
detailsof the emergency
KeyPloyers
contract,based
on
tric hotwireand landscaPing.
on the company'srecentsuccessful work
SFZoo Project
and
While the fasttrack schedule emer-
at the zoo and understanding f their o
gencynature of the project proved chal-
and requirements. company
protocols The
lenging, that was intensified by extremely General Contractor: Yerba Buena
acceptedhe challenge o take on the
t t
wet weather during the course of
project,with a commitment to complete Engineering & Construction, Inc.,
t h e w o r k i n j u s t a 3 0 - d a yt i m e f r a m e . c o n s t r u c t i o n .quot; N o r m a l l y y o u w o u l d San Francisco
never do this kind of work when it's
Although the design was originally slated
Architect: C+A Associate.
raining 2 inches in a day,quot; Galarza
t o b e c o m p l e t e db y f a n u a r y 7 t h , f i n a l
San Francisco
comments.quot;We've had to put in differ-
designwasn'tdelivereduntil about 10 days
after that - but construction work moved e n t s a f e t yp r o t o c o l t o m a k e s u r e o u r Key Subcontractors:
tools are grounded properly and such. It
forward with all eyesfocusedon the needs Brown Steel Metal, Oakdale
definitelyhasslowedthings down.quot;
of the owner. GalarzacreditsYerbaBuena Morton Reinforcing, Lake County
YerbaBuena
including project superinten- Despitethe challenges,
employees, Capital Glass Company, Hayward
completedthe project
d e n t F e r n a n d oC a r r i l l o , a l o n g w i t h a had substantially
Golden Bay Fence,Hayward
(seeinset b y t h e f i r s t w e e k i n F e b r u a r y .F o r
number of key subcontractors
R&MPaving,Milpitas
Galarza,who is a San Francisco native
box) for steppingup to make the job a
Vargas & Esquivel, San Francisco
and currently servesas the co-Chair of
success.
CelestialTechnologies, San Francisco
quot;All theseguyshavereally pushedhard AGC's San FranciscoBay Area District
quot;Every- a n d a s t a t ed i r e c t o r ,t h e p r o j e c t r e p r e -
to getit done,quot;Galarza comments.
THE VOICE OF THE CONSTRUCIION lNDUSTRY Associated,
General
Contractors California
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