Culvert: A covered channel that carries water underground.

That’s what’s being built behind Perini Building Company’s new headquarters “at the curve” as Patrick Lane becomes Green Valley Parkway in Henderson, NV.

We all know about Perini Building Company. It’s part of Tutor Perini Corporation, an international general contracting, building and civil construction and construction management company.

The Las Vegas branch of the company first came to town in 1978 with an American Airlines warehouse project that is now the International Terminal. From there, Perini built the Thomas and Mack Center for UNLV, Cashman Field, the Fremont Street Experience and on and on. Today Perini Building Company is the largest construction company operating in Las Vegas. Current projects include CityCenter, the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas and the new Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport. The company has not been without problems related to its massive projects, but in recent months, construction has proceeded without incident.

In April, 2006, Perini purchased 12 acres at 2955 North Green Valley Parkway. The land is divided by a portion of Duck Creek. The creek starts just east of the Las Vegas Strip and eventually feeds into the Las Vegas wash which in turn flows into Lake Mead. The local creeks and washes handle water that is urban runoff, shallow groundwater, reclaimed water and storm water.

To a bystander, the land at 2955 North Green Valley Parkway was no bargain. It was uneven, weed-filled and divided by a part of Duck Creek that at best was unattractive and at worst was used as an occasional dry garbage dump.

In June, 2008 construction began on the south side of the property. To neighbors, “someone” was grading land and building a building. Eventually the results were revealed: a new headquarters for Perini Building Company. As with many projects in the Las Vegas valley, the building went up quickly, and it seemed only days later, full exterior landscaping was in place as well. In June of this year, Perini executives moved from their building on Howard Hughes Parkway to the new headquarters. Though the building’s back yard is a creek, this reporter was pleasantly surprised when entering the building from its back-door entrance to see an attractive showcase lobby.

Once the building was completed, neighbors then saw something else, huge pieces of construction equipment behind the new building, leveling and digging in the dry creek bed. What’s going on?

Barry Goettsch is Perini’s project manager for what it calls its “Duck Creek” project. Goettsch explained that Perini owns land on both sides of the creek. The company is building a 1200-foot-long culvert that will allow the creek to flow underground while the ground level is used for parking and as yet other undetermined purposes.

Cost of the project to reclaim air rights over the creek? $5 million. The concrete slab at the base of the culvert is 30 feet below grade, so ground water is an issue. As a result, the project involved digging some 23 wells, 40 to 60 feet deep to divert the groundwater.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of November. For this local resident, Perini’s 2009 holiday gift will be one eyesore removed.