Construction to begin on Tennessee VW plant

By Candy McCampbell

Construction will get under way this month on the $1 billion Volkswagen assembly plant near Chattanooga, Tenn., after portions of the 1,350-acre site have been cleared and turned over to VW.

The building pads were the first to be conveyed to Volkswagen Group of America, on Nov. 1, says Jill Bratina, VW spokeswoman.

Concrete pours for the 1.9 million-sq-ft plant will start soon so the complex can stay on schedule for opening in early 2011. A formal, ceremonial groundbreaking for the plant will be held in January, Bratina says.

The project will include several infrastructure jobs, totaling about $127 million in construction. Those include a test track, tank farm, helipad, fire station, streets, drainage and sewer.

Volkswagen earlier named SSOE of Toledo, Ohio, to be in charge of architecture, engineering and construction management of the plant.

SSOE will be aided in construction management by Alberici Constructors Inc. of St. Louis, Mo., while Environmental Resources Management (ERM), a London-based environmental consulting company, will work with SSOE in environmental areas. Both SSOE and ERM already have offices in Tennessee.

VW has said it is committed to sustainable development for the plant, located in the Enterprise South industrial park, near Interstate 75 and about 12 mi from downtown.

The plant, which will produce 150,000 mid-size cars each year, will employ 2,000 workers. It is also expected to generate jobs for another 2,000 construction workers.

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