Data Center Power Delivery Infrastructure - North Dakota
Power | Mission Critical | Foundation Solutions | North Dakota
To support a high-demand regional data center in North Dakota, Aldridge was brought on during the early design phase to execute a fast-track civil and foundations package connecting a new substation and transmission corridor directly to the facility. Partnering closely with the EPC design team months prior to site mobilization, our teams worked through technical constructability challenges, concrete mix specifications, and prefabrication strategies to ensure smooth field execution.
Site Constraints & Technical Requirements
Delivering multi-trade infrastructure on an accelerated schedule presented significant operational challenges:
Mass Concrete & Thermal Limits: Larger diameter transmission and substation drilled shafts were subject to strict mass concrete protocols, requiring specialized mix designs, thermal CLSM testing, and precise temperature monitoring during curing.
Tight Outage Windows: Foundation drilling along active transmission segments required tight coordination with grid operators to execute work safely within limited outage frames.
Evolving Design Packages: Final design details for multiple scopes were finalized concurrently with site mobilization, requiring real-time field adaptation and continuous stakeholder alignment.
Multi-Trade Alignment: Concurrent operations across deep foundations, shallow flatwork, utility duct banks, and access matting required continuous cross-divisional safety and quality oversight.
Execution & Strategy
To maintain momentum under a compressed timeline, Aldridge integrated Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) and prefabrication groups directly into preconstruction. VDC teams modeled the underground utility routes in 3D, enabling our prefabrication division to build custom duct bank support structures off-site. This off-site assembly drastically reduced on-site installation time and eliminated field clashes during placement.
Our crews mobilized high-capacity drilling equipment to execute 23 transmission line foundations and nearly 300 substation drilled shafts up to 9 feet in diameter and 60 feet deep. In parallel, crews installed 1 mile of right-of-way access matting, poured shallow flatwork slabs, placed helical piles, and completed three pre-engineered duct bank runs tying directly into downstream structures. Through seamless coordination across safety, quality, fleet, and field operations, our crews delivered the entire multi-scope footprint safely and on schedule.
