Maintaining emergency communications during construction presents significant challenges for public-sector facility owners, particularly when structural modifications must take place inside an occupied building. JE Dunn Construction addressed these constraints during renovations at the Oregon State Police Southern Oregon Command Facility, where dispatch operations continued throughout the work.
Additional geotechnical testing identified the need for foundations extending 30 feet deeper than initially planned. Installing piles of that depth inside an existing structure with only 15 feet of overhead clearance required specialized equipment.
JE Dunn used a custom low-overhead pile-driving rig supplied by a trade partner to complete the foundation work. The equipment required precision welding before installation, adding coordination requirements involving special inspectors and construction sequencing. The project team adjusted the work schedule to accommodate the modifications while keeping subsequent activities moving.
Existing structural conditions prevented the use of conventional foundation construction methods. Crews could not excavate, compact soil in stages and complete the foundations before placing the floor slab.
Instead, the construction team installed approximately 2 feet of geofoam beneath the slab to serve as a void form. This approach allowed the foundations and slab to be poured together in a single monolithic placement.
The structural foam provided a consistent separation between the slab and underlying soil, addressing constraints that made conventional subbase preparation difficult within the building. Combining the foundation and slab work also reduced the need for separate construction stages.
The approach demonstrates how alternative materials and construction sequencing can help teams carry out structural upgrades in existing facilities where access and working conditions limit standard methods.
Maintaining uninterrupted emergency communications was a central requirement of the renovation. JE Dunn phased construction activities and coordinated the transition of dispatch operations with Aptitude, its smart-building technology integration partner.
Weekly coordination sessions brought together local and statewide information technology, dispatch and field support personnel. The work included relocating the existing main telecommunications room and incoming connections serving state and regional municipalities.
The transition was completed without downtime for the 911 system and associated regional, state police and transportation networks. Maintaining these connections allowed emergency dispatch services to continue while construction proceeded within the active facility.
The renovated command facility is designed as a Category 4 facility intended to withstand earthquakes and post-disaster impacts, supporting continued public safety operations in Southern Oregon.
Renovating emergency response facilities requires construction teams to manage structural work, restricted equipment access and critical building systems without compromising essential services. The Oregon project illustrates how specialized equipment, alternative foundation methods and close coordination with technology teams can address those constraints.
For public-sector owners and construction managers, maintaining operational continuity during renovations is an important consideration when upgrading dispatch centres and other critical infrastructure. The facility's seismic and post-disaster design requirements also highlight the role of resilience in public safety construction.
Source: JE Dunn.
