Jungala® at Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay is a four-acre attraction, themed as an exotic jungle and offering guests a variety of play spaces as well as exquisite animal exhibits. A three-story playland allows guests to explore mazes, tunnels and climbing nets. Visitors can soar above the treetops on a zip line or launch into the sky from inside a 35-foot waterfall. The project’s exotic jungle animals include orangutans and Bengal tigers. The on time opening of this large-scale attraction, the largest addition since the park’s opening, was very important to the client. PCL understood that the anticipated completion date could not be delayed.

While the project schedule dictated a fixed, immovable open date, PCL experienced a setback right off the bat when a permit delay caused the construction start to be two months late. In addition, scope changes resulted in an approximately 25% larger project than anticipated. To expedite the construction schedule, PCL implemented a six-day work week for the first four months of the project, which was upgraded to a seven-day work week for the remainder of the project. Approaching project completion, PCL’s crews worked three shifts a day for the project’s final six weeks. This hard work allowed our team to complete the project on time while maintaining a dedicated focus on quality and safety on the jobsite.

Additional scopes of work completed by PCL include several buildings for animal holding, exhibit viewing, food services and merchandise. The project also included elevated walkways and the installation of two new amusement rides.