By Rodrigo Venegas – Assistant Project Manager | Greater Nebraska

Commonwealth’s Kearney, NE, team and other spectators watch as General Contractor MCL Construction lowers the final beam onto the Rural Health building at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

April 1 this year was not just April Fool’s Day; it also marked a significant milestone for the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) as it celebrated a topping-out ceremony for its Rural Health project. In the same week, the City of Kearney, NE, held a topping out ceremony at its new SportsPlex. Our team is working alongside General Contractor MCL Construction on both projects.

The UNK Rural Health project is led by General Foreman Jeff Trotta, who has done an excellent job coordinating and mentoring our up-and-coming apprentices. Jeff has been instrumental in ensuring that all deck pours for the project were on schedule, setting the stage for underground work to commence in mid-April. Our Building Information Modeling (BIM) team, comprised of VDC Designer Nick Friesen and VDC Detailer Ccelssii Parker, was critical to the successful preplanning of the project. Nick and Ccelssii have worked hard behind the scenes, and we are grateful they are on our team.

April 5 was another important date, marking the date our team installed the final precast panel. This was collaborative effort led by Senior Project Manager Dan Cahalan, General Foreman Ryan Roetman, and Journeyman Wireman Logan Irwin, in partnership with Enterprise Precast Concrete in Omaha, NE.

The Kearney SportsPlex project, led by General Foreman Preston Skalka, has been making steady progress with its underground phase. Over the past few months, he has gone above and beyond, coordinating with steel erectors to uphold Commonwealth’s high safety standards. BIM Coordinator Sheri Stone has been doing a fantastic job communicating with Preston, ensuring smooth progress and addressing any issues that arise.

We have been keeping our Grand Island, NE, Prefab shop and Prefab Manager Dan Harlow busy lately. Dan’s timely delivery of orders, along with his support in streamlining our prefabrication process, has made him an invaluable asset to our team.

We are grateful to everyone who has been assisting with these projects. The teamwork and dedication our employees put into their jobs are nothing short of amazing, and they reflect their commitment to excellence.