Did You Know?
• The heaviest precast concrete slabs weighed approximately 18,000 pounds, with the remainder weighing in at 10,000 to 11,000 pounds apiece.
• Three to four slabs were transported per load.
• Each panel was numbered and sequenced on the truck to ensure efficient installation at the job site.
Source: Wieser Concrete, supplier who built the precast panels the highway,” he said.
He reiterated how precast panels are particularly helpful in situations where the center lane of the highway couldn’ t be shut down for more than a few hours at a time.
“ So they shut it down at night, and then they saw cut and they bust out those pieces – and then they bring our precast( panels) in and set them in place,” Wieser said.“ They prepare it so it’ s level, they set it in place, and then they can run traffic over it immediately. That’ s the big advantage of the precast and why precast is a preferred alternative for replacing these bad spots on the road.”
Adam Gaugh, a transportation engineer who served as Ayres Associates’ assistant project leader, said the process went quite smoothly overall, although night work did present special challenges. For instance, with work occurring at those hours, it wasn’ t always possible to call someone if questions or problems occurred.
“ A lot of times you’ ve got to either use your experience or your schooling or your training to try to figure out the best way to correct a problem, because everything’ s got to be open by the morning,” Gaugh said.
Chris Cape, project manager for Cornerstone USA LLC, the prime contractor, said his staff worked well with the Ayres Associates crew.
“ There was a real partnering and team approach to the project that was exceptional and greatly contributed to the success of the project,” Cape said, noting that the collaboration was immensely helpful when needing to open the interstate to a high volume of traffic every morning.“ They were a very skilled and able group on this project, and that’ s really an understatement. They were really sharp people.”
Scan this QR code to watch a video of crews installing the precast panels or follow this link: www. ayresassociates. com / services _ transportation _ engineering. html
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