1. What was your role in this project?
   Vice President of Operation

2. This project was so unique that many chose not to bid on it in the first place. Why did you want this project?
   Dondlinger and Sons has always enjoyed working on rewarding and challenging projects. We saw “The Keeper of the Plains” as one that would stand the test of time and a project our firm and team members could take pride in for generations to come. We would not consider bidding such a difficult project if we did not have the skilled and talented professionals working in our firm and the necessary equipment resources that are required for a project of this scope and magnitude. The icing on the cake is that the project was right here in our hometown, which was very rewarding to see it take shape on a daily basis.

3. What is your favorite part of this project?
   That’s a hard choice. There were so many important aspects of the project. The raising of the Keeper of the Plains, the fire display, artwork, landscape and the artificial rock, but I would have to say the pedestrian bridges was the most challenging for our firm. Bridges as complex as these have never before been constructed in Kansas and are among the longest, if not the longest, cable stayed bridges of this type in the United States.

4. Was there a time when you said, "What have I gotten myself into?" If yes, when?
   To be a contractor tackling such complex and difficult projects such as “The Keeper of the Plains”, one must be a risk-taker, but a calculated risk-taker. When a slide show of the construction work was presented at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, showing tons and tons of steel false work for the bridges, the cofferdams and causeway diverting the river, I got a cold chill and told myself I’m not sure I would ever want to do it again.

5. What are you most proud of?
   Although I mentioned the bridges, it was the teamwork of our entire skilled and talented craftsman, the cooperation of our subcontractors and suppliers and the fact that we did not have one lost time accident on the project spanning a two-year period. For me, the most important accomplishment on the project was to send our team members home safely every day.

6. Anything else that you would like to add?
   Ultimately, it is teamwork and cooperation that gets the job done and I would be remiss if I did not say that working with the City of Wichita, the design team members, subcontractors and suppliers was a true pleasure.

BIO

Nick Dondlinger, Vice President of the Dondlinger & Sons Bridge division, has been in the construction business for over 40 years. He is married to Sarah and has two children, Raymond and Allison. Dondlinger and Son Construction Co, founded in 1898, is a Wichita-based full-service General Contractor. Its operation includes buildings, bridges, underground utilities, and sewer and water treatment plants.

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