Final exterior grading takes place at fiscal year 2020-funded barracks project at Fort McCoy

Photo By Scott Sturkol | Contractors complete exterior grading and landscaping work Aug. 26, 2022, as part of construction operations related to the fiscal year 2020-funded transient training troops barracks project at Fort McCoy, Wis. The $18.8 million project was awarded to L.S. Black Constructors, which is the contractor who built the first barracks building at Fort McCoy, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Resident Office at Fort McCoy. The new contract was awarded Sept. 29, 2020, and the notice to proceed was issued Oct. 28, 2020. The contract duration is scheduled for completion in 780 calendar days. Currently contract completion is scheduled for December 2022. The barracks is different than the traditional barracks located throughout the installation. This new building will be four stories and able to house 400 people in approximately 60,000 square feet. The project also is part of the Fort McCoy Master Plan that looks at continuously upgrading the installation’s infrastructure to be prepared for the future. The Army Corps of Engineers is managing the project. The landscape work took numerous days to complete to get to its final grade specifications. (U.S. Army Photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

09.12.2022

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                              

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Ken Green with the Army Corps of Engineers Resident Office at Fort McCoy said Sept. 2 that final exterior landscaping and grading was completed next to the fiscal year (FY) 2020 transient training troops barracks project at Fort McCoy.

Green, who made the announcement as part of a weekly update about the project, said in the report the construction of a second four-story barracks is 97 percent complete.

On the exterior grading, he said it the contractor was “getting the site up to finish grade.”

In late August and early September, an excavator, dozer, and dump trucks were operating with contractors on the land surrounding the barracks busily leveling off the area to specifications. The work occurred over several days. According to Green, it’s part of the process to completing the entire project.

The barracks, funded at $18.8 million in FY 2020, resembles another barracks that was also built by current contractor L.S. Black Constructors that is adjacent to this project in the 1600 block at Fort McCoy’s cantonment area. The first barracks that was built by the same contractor was turned over to Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Public Works on April 1.

Green said Sept. 2 that other work on the barracks project includes exterior concrete work, mechanical yard fencing, systems continue to be worked on, and more. The current completion date continues to be set for December 2022, Green wrote in the update.

Large construction projects like this barracks project also contributes to the economic impact of local communities. Fort McCoy Garrison officials said Fort McCoy’s total economic impact for fiscal year FY 2021 was an estimated $1.93 billion, above the $1.479 billion reported for FY 2020, garrison officials announced.

Also for FY 2021, the economic impact for the fiscal year also included $39.4 million in military construction on post. For FY 2022, that figure should also be similar, officials said.

The Fort McCoy Executive Summary, available on the installation website, www.home.army.mil/mccoy, also shows the installation makes continuous improvements to provide a plethora of training capabilities for service members.

“Throughout the last decade, Fort McCoy experienced unprecedented facility modernization, training area development and expansion, increased training and customer support capability, and improved quality-of-life opportunities,” the summary states. “From unmanned aerial vehicles, to urban training facilities, to live-fire ranges and virtual-training environments, Fort McCoy is prepared to meet the training needs of the Army in the 21st century.”

The summary also states how Fort McCoy provides “full-scale support to its customers at each juncture of its training triad — transient, institutional and exercise. Transient training customers are those who are at the installation for a period of two weeks or less. Transient training is the foundation and building blocks on which individuals and units learn and hone warrior skills.” That is who these barracks will support.

Also, in the overview about the installation in the 2022-23 Fort McCoy Guide, it further details what the post has to offer.

“Fort McCoy’s mission is to strengthen Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, mobilization force generation installation, and strategic support area. As a Total Force Training Center, Fort McCoy’s primary responsibility is to support the training and readiness of military personnel and units of all branches and components of America's armed forces. Fort McCoy is a Mobilization Force Generation Installation prepared to support contingency operations as ordered.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.

• Date Taken: 09.12.2022
• Date Posted: 09.12.2022 16:32
• Story ID: 429123
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US