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Sheriff's Sterling Substation Now in Rough-in Phase
Men in hard hats are working to a cacophony of construction.
Standing in the Rolling Ridge Elementary School parking lot, looking west, the sheriff’s substation’s second-story steel-framed mezzanine glistens in the afternoon summer sun. From street level the 4.0 acre construction site at 46620 East Frederick Drive appears to be a mighty fortress surrounded by an impregnable 7’ high chain-link and barbed-wire fence. The project is now in the rough-in phase with middle construction and final phases to come in the fall and early spring respectively. Positioning myself by the front gate, the construction site seems to the untrained eye to be well managed chaos with men in hard hats all working to a cacophony of construction complete with heavy equipment in motion, hammers and electric saws.
The substation’s main entrance is now easily recognizable. Anyone observing from this location can view the partially completed roof installation and brickwork. Looking through the fence, bricklayers are visible installing scaffolding on the west side of the building with the help of a JLG Lull 9,000 lb. rough terrain telehandler forklift. Inside the secure, fenced-in compound on the southwest corner, a Caterpillar backhoe loader cuts out a 4’ wide by 4’ deep trench. Two 7’ high wooden spools of General Cable underground high voltage cable line are strategically placed nearby. In the back of the site another Caterpillar compactor is busy dozing, road grading, spreading and performing the usual clean-up work. An unattended JCB excavator sits idle like a small dinosaur. Perhaps its work for the day is done.
Two trailers sit adjacent to East Frederick Avenue. The upper trailer houses office space for Patriot Contracting and all progress status meetings are held there. The lower trailer is utilized as office space for both the Sheriff's Office and Capital Construction personnel. Heavy equipment operators drive their machines past the trailers on a rough uneven earthen street, reminiscent of a third world village. This is the major thoroughfare for the site.
Not far away, pallets of 16” cinder block are stacked high next to even more pallets of Quikrete Crack-Resistant Concrete Mix. This construction grade blend of Portland cement, sand, gravel and special reinforcing fibers reduces shrinkage cracks and improves impact resistance. Two Spec Mix silos are working furiously, their power mixing auger systems with a unique array of specialized mixing paddles and agitators are continuously churning out wet mix by the boatload. The wet mix is used for both poured wall and slab foundations.
At the main building, a Genie S-85 rough terrain telescopic boom with 360 degree continuous turntable rotation lifts a crew of two some 30’ high off the ground and up to the second floor mezzanine to perform steel reinforcing and roof installation construction on an aerial-work platform. Large sheets of Tyvek, a product comprised of flash spun synthetic high-density polyethylene fibers, cover the entire building. The material is very strong, and difficult to tear. The large sheets are used as commercial wrap or under house siding. The wrap provides a water barrier between the outer cladding of a structure and the frame and insulation. It functions as a weather-resistant barrier, preventing rain from getting into the wall assembly while allowing water vapor to pass to the exterior. Tyvek also serves as a windbreaker.
View of second floor mezzanine level with raised equipment landings
In an email to the substation advisory board, Captain Ricky Frye cited that “schedule milestones are progressing well at the Eastern Loudoun Substation site. Dry weather is helping us to make-up key construction milestones with site work, and hopefully we will have a rough parking lot soon. The big story is the installation of the roof that has begun in earnest. We are still managing a few parking issues with our residents and which we have been tending to diligently. We expect that this scenario will improve with the near term establishment of on-site parking as soon as the site work schedules are caught up.”
The Sterling Substation will be the second fully operational substation outside of Leesburg. The Dulles South (South Riding) public safety station, where the sheriff's office shares space with Loudoun fire-rescue, went into operation in 2007.
At the Sterling construction site, either Captain Ricky Frye or Lieutenant Brian Harpster is usually on the premises and working out of the lower trailer. If you have any questions about the Sterling Substation build status, schedule milestones, or any concerns or issues relevant to this site work, please email Captain Frye @ Ricky.Frye@loudoun.gov, or Brian.Harpster@Loudoun.gov, or call 703-737-8079.God bless our sheriff's deputies.
Note: Mark Gunderman is a Sterling Park resident and serves on the Sheriff's Substation Advisory Board. He can be reached at gunderman2001@aol.com.
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