-- The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) awarded $4.7 million in contracts to OCS Construction Services Inc., for low-embodied carbon asphalt and concrete paving projects at the Border Patrol Headquarters in Tucson, Arizona, and Andrade Land Port of Entry in southeast California, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act as part of President Biden’s investing in America agenda.
The Riverside, California-based firm is a certified 8a small business contractor and will provide design and construction services to replace a total of 27,200 square feet of pavement with environmentally preferred low-embodied carbon paving materials, effectively avoiding 6.7 metric tons of embodied carbon emissions, a leading producer of greenhouse gas. This award highlights GSA's commitment to collaborating and building more robust outreach to promote opportunities for small and socially/economically disadvantaged business entities.
Both projects received funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which leverages the federal government’s purchasing power to spur demand for construction materials that are made with substantially lower levels of embodied carbon.
The $1,542,187 contract for the Tucson Border Patrol Headquarters paving project will replace the existing asphalt at the facility with 66,500 square feet of low-embodied carbon asphalt pavement, including 1,200 square feet of asphalt to prevent water shedding and erosion.
In Winterhaven, California, the $3,180,208 contract includes $2,899,180 in Inflation Reduction Act funding to design and provide construction services for the paving project at the Andrade Land Port of Entry will remove the existing paving covering the northbound vehicle inspection lanes and replace it with 26,000 square feet of new, low-embodied carbon asphalt, which complies with GSA’s new low-carbon construction standards.
“These low-embodied carbon asphalt paving project contracts underscore GSA’s commitment to reducing our carbon footprint,” explained Sukhee Kang, Regional Administrator for GSA’s Pacific Rim Region. “These projects improve conditions for the agencies protecting the border. They also provide opportunities for small businesses and provide an economic boost for southern Arizona and California.”
Comments