SABER Contract Used to Preserve Historic Memorial

Challenge: A Noble Cause with an Unreasonable Price Tag

Fort Riley is a U.S. Army installation located in north central Kansas. The post, including its Main Post Cemetery, was officially founded in 1853. The cemetery, which still serves veterans, active duty military members and their families to this day, is one of the oldest historic properties on the fort.  

Whenever a storm hit the post, the cemetery flooded. To protect this historic property, Fort Riley sought to create a new inlet to serve as a storm water runoff area, reroute floodwaters around the cemetery and modernize the drainage system for future sustainment. This involved abandoning part of the existing storm sewers running under Huebner Road and the cemetery. Initially, this project was sent to the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for execution. However, their $5 million estimate did not fit Fort Riley’s budget and would require taking the project out to bid. 

Watch this video to learn about Gordian’s solutions built specifically to sustain, renew and modernize Federal facilities.

Solution: One Person’s Game-Changing Expertise

Upon hearing the USACE estimate amount, Chris Brown, General Engineer for the Design Branch, took it upon himself to design and price a more economical alternative by leveraging his prior work and military experiences. Through Chris’ ingenuity, Fort Riley was able to rescope the project and utilize their SABER contract for transparent pricing and access to awarded contractor Olgoonik Diversified Services.  

“What this project represents is the heart of [SABER]; indeed, this is as typical a [SABER] project as one could find. This bread-and-butter project is indicative of the types of sustainment, repair and modernization (SRM) projects that facility owners accomplish through [SABER] every day.”  – Christopher Brown | General Engineer, US Army Garrison Fort Riley

To install the new drainage system, Olgoonik’s team bored a new 32-inch storm sewer 700 feet southwest of the runoff inlet. The new sewer emptied into an inlet sized to accommodate storm water runoff. The job also included lining the remainder of the storm sewer under the cemetery with resin-impregnated cured-in-place pipe, installing a new curb inlet along Huebner Rd and re-grading the area on the north side of the road to allow for proper drainage. 

Result: Immense Savings through a SABER Contract

The collaborative partnership between Fort Riley, Gordian and Olgoonik reduced the project cost to just under $700,000, giving Fort Riley the exact results they needed at a savings of more than $4 million. The saved funds have allowed Fort Riley to award and complete several other projects, further preserving the Main Post Cemetery and the historical grounds surrounding it.  

Fort Riley, Gordian and Olgoonik reduced the project cost to just under $700,000, giving Fort Riley the exact results they needed at a savings of more than $4 million.

For his ingenuity and use of Fort Riley’s SABER contract, Chris was awarded the distinction of Civilian Employee of the Quarter by the Commander and has also been nominated for Army Material Command Worldwide Employee of the Quarter. 

Perhaps most importantly, this project was accomplished with minimal disturbance to the cemetery area, which represents the ultimate sacrifice that our nation’s soldiers have given over the years.