2009 fall newsletter
DESCRIPTION
Guntert & Zimmerman Construction Profiles - Cold Spring Construction: First Dowel Bar Insert in NY - Hawkins Construction: New Telescopic End Sections - Thiess: Paving Train in Australia - Flynn: Iowa Goes StringlessTRANSCRIPT
Guntert & Zimmerman
Construction ProfilesFall 2009
Hawkins Construction
New TelescopicEnd Sectionspg. 6
Cold Spring Construction
First Dowel BarInsert in NYpg. 1
Thiess
Paving Trainin Australiapg. 11
Flynn
Iowa Goes Stringlesspg. 9
An Eye For QualityCold Spring Construction Paves with First Successful DBI in New York State
Change comes slowly. The concrete paving industry is constantly
working for more market share in states that have typically been
more asphalt friendly. The benefits of using concrete over asphalt
have been proven time and time again. Concrete pavements
are stronger, longer lasting, more durable, and environmentally
friendly. The advantages of concrete pavements are even more
dramatic in areas that experience freeze thaw cycles and repeated
deicing salt applications. One of those areas of this country is
upstate New York, where winter weather coming off the Great
Lakes causes extreme snow levels and ice accumulation.
The State of New York has not been an active concrete paving
market for some time. Part of the reason for lack of concrete
activity has to do with previous installations that were poorly
constructed. Over time however, concrete pavement design,
construction practices, and equipment have evolved. Because
of these changes, contractors are able to construct extremely
smooth concrete pavements that will last over fifty years with
minimal maintenance. With a market positioned to offer the
best engineered solution for America’s crumbling infrastructure,
there has never been a better time to consider the use of concrete
pavements.
The New York State Thruway, which owns and operates the
I-90 corridor through upstate New York, recognized the
inherent problems and short life of the asphalt overlays it was
constructing. For this reason it chose to reconstruct a 15 mile
(24.14 km) stretch of interstate around Weedsport, NY with a
concrete section. Once the design decision was made to use
concrete, it was incredibly important to award the project to a
contractor that not only was quality minded but also understood
the importance of this project and the influence it has on the
future of concrete in the State of New York.
It was a benefit to the concrete market that Cold Spring
Construction was awarded the project. Cold Spring
Construction has been a staple of quality and precision in
the Buffalo area since 1911. Started by Eugene Forrestel, the
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company has been passed down through three generations with
the next generation coming up through the ranks. Cold Spring’s
success over the years can be attributed to always having an
eye for quality. As the concrete market begins to thaw in New
York, we can all breathe a large sigh of relief that Cold Spring has
represented the concrete market well.
When awarded the I-90 job, Cold Spring’s President, Steve
Forrestel, went searching for the proper equipment solution.
With that keen eye for quality, Forrestel decided to go with a
G&Z S850 Slipform Paver. “Our goal is to be as competitive as
possible, and we believe the G&Z gives us that capability,” says
Steve Forrestel. As the project plans began to become finalized,
it was clear that the project would be much better suited using
a mechanical dowel bar inserter rather than welded dowel
assemblies for the placement of load transfer dowels in the
transverse joint. Prior to this project, mechanical dowel bar
inserters had never been successfully used in the state, but Cold
Spring recognized the quality of the end product, productivity
increases, and potential cost savings with its use. Through several
meetings and communication between the Thruway, Cold
Spring, and G&Z, the Thruway allowed the use of G&Z’s Compact
Dowel Bar Inserter (CDBI). A tolerance specification and QA
program was developed to ensure the accurate placement of the
dowel bars in the pavement. The end goal of these collaborative
efforts was to ensure 1) load transfer capability of the joint wasn’t
compromised due to dowel bar position and 2) the dowel bar
could be inserted to meet specification with the equipment being
used. There are many criteria for the specification to be met, with
the strictest being a vertical and horizontal tolerance of +/- 15 mm
along the length of the bar. “During the course of my career in
concrete pavement construction, I have never seen 4 different
parties (New York Thruway Authority, Cold Spring Construction,
Guntert & Zimmerman, and Craig Greene, Hanson) work together
in an effort to produce the best quality concrete pavement ever
slipformed in upstate New York . This effort started months
before the first yard of concrete was ever poured. It was because
of this pooling of knowledge, experience, and attention to detail
that the optimal concrete mix was designed, batched, and placed
which resulted in a quality, durable, and smooth pavement,” said
Bill Stewart, Paving Superintendent .
The I-90 project near Weedsport, NY is the single largest concrete
paving contract ever awarded in the state of New York. The 3
year project consists of 15 miles (24.14 km) of dual lane concrete
pavement. The New York Thruway Authority’s I-90 is a major
thoroughfare between New York City and the rest of the country.
The first of two 5 mile (8 km) eastbound sections were completed
Ryan ForrestelAssistant Superintendent
Steve ForrestelPresident Dick Forrestel
Chairman
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in 2009 with three 5 mile (8 km) eastbound / westbound sections
scheduled for 2010 and one remaining west bound sections
scheduled for 2011.
Historically, this particular portion of the NY Thruway has always
required intensive maintenance because of the combination
of poor soils, freeze/thaw cycles, and exposure to deicing salts.
Over the years there have been numerous asphalt overlays on
this stretch of roadway sometimes as frequent as every couple of
years.
For this particular reconstruction project, the Thruway wanted
to design a pavement that would last 40-50 years with little
maintenance other than occasional CPR (Concrete Preservation
Restoration) procedures every 10 years or more. CPR is a total
system that includes undersealing, partial depth replacement,
and spall repairs, grooving and grinding of pavement surface,
cleaning and resealing of joints, and shoulder restoration.
The existing slab was 25 ft (7.62 m) wide with 9 in (22.86 cm) of
concrete overlaid several times with asphalt and reinforced with
wire mesh. The reconstructed 2-lane concrete pavement section
is 26 ft (7.9 m) wide and 13 in (33 cm) thick with a 10 ft (3 m)
asphalt shoulder on the right and a 12 ft (3.65 m) asphalt shoulder
on the left. The concrete pavement section is supported by a 4 in
(10 cm) layer of permeable concrete base over a 12 in (30 cm)
sub-base layer of recycled concrete.
Demolition work began in May 2009 with the first concrete paving
starting around the Fourth of July holiday. The demolition work
consisted of milling off the top layer of asphalt, excavating the old
9 in concrete section, and crushing the concrete to be recycled
as sub-base. Even with several undercut sections that needed
remediation, the 2nd 5 mile (8 km) section of concrete was
completed October 8th on schedule for a traffic move onto the
new pavement in mid-November. “The G&Z is well built to handle
large piles of concrete in front of the paver which helps us keep
up with the plant production and meet our needed production
rates,” praises Steve Forrestel.
Transverse joints are spaced every 14 ft 9 in (4.5 m) with a
longitudinal joint positioned in the center of the two lanes
spanning the length of the pavement. The transverse joints are
reinforced with 1-5/8 in x 18 in load transfer dowels bars, while
the longitudinal joint is tied with 5/8 in x 36 in deformed tie
bars.
Cold Spring purchased a G&Z S850 and CDBI specifically for this
project because they knew to meet the tight production schedule
and stringent smoothness and dowel bar tolerance specifications
they needed the best that technology could offer. Ryan Forrestel,
Assistant Superintendent commented, “The S850 with CDBI is an
extremely complicated machine but is so well engineered that it
performs flawlessly. It is exciting to work around a machine that
gives us the capability of putting out the best possible product.”
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The S850 with CDBI has performed excellently on the job. Steve
Curtis, Paver Operator states, “The S850 worked well from the
start. Right out of the box. Everyone at Cold Spring has been
really pleased.” Speaking of the dowel bar inserter, Dick Forrestel,
Chairman of Cold Spring, states, “It’s now a brand new ball game.
This solves the problems and headaches of paving over baskets.”
As part of the quality assurance program that Cold Spring
submitted to the Thruway, they purchased an MIT scanner and
trained one of their young promising engineers to measure the
position of the dowels in every joint after each pour was complete.
The location of dowels in the pavement has been excellent at the
end of phase one 95,186 bars had been inserted with less than
0.5% of the bars misaligned. The majority of the misaligned bars
occurred during the first few pours when typical start-up issues
with an operation of this magnitude were being addressed. This
percentage is well below typical industry standards for projects
using either welded dowel assemblies or mechanical dowel bar
inserters. Because of the proactive stance that Cold Spring has
undertaken by measuring each dowel for its correct positioning,
the Thruway has gained significant confidence in the work
that Cold Spring performs as well as the performance of the
G&Z equipment they use. “Solving the dowel bar issue with a
DBI really solves the problem and that’s good for the concrete
industry,” says Dick Forrestel.
The G&Z requires little to no extra finishing behind the paver.
Extremely sharp edges produced by G&Z’s edger sideforms.
G&Z CDBI poised to insert dowels.
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Guntert & Zimmerman
SAME G&Z QUALITY, SAME G&Z SMOOTHNESS.
Half Width Slipform Paver
COMING SOON
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To the contractor, the well-known phrase “time is money” could
not be closer to the truth. Schedules and backlogs pile up, and
the need for quality equipment to fulfill needed production
rates and schedules is an ever increasing commodity. One of
the largest constraints to a concrete paving operation is time
consuming paving kit width changes on the slipform paver. With
the bidding table becoming more competitive, a contractor that
can offer a shorter paving schedule, which offers the pavement
ready for use to the highway or airport authority in a faster time
frame, often has a competitive advantage. It is no surprise that
technology is being designed and developed to achieve quicker
width changes to meet the need of contractors who are willing
to bid using aggressive production rates. Guntert & Zimmerman
(G&Z) has produced such a technology.
G&Z’s New Telescopic Paving Kit Terminal End Sections (patent
pending) allow the contractor to perform width changes in an
extremely shortened amount of time and with fewer personnel.
The New Telescopic End Sections give the contractor 6 feet (1.8 m)
of quick width change capability 3 feet (.9 m) on each side. In
the past, the challenges with similar technologies has been that
contractors using quick width change solutions were faced with
sacrificing smoothness; this resulted in an inability to use the
technology on projects that had a tight smoothness specification.
The G&Z Telescopic End Sections address not only the need for
quick width changes but also the need for quick width changes
without adversely affecting pavement smoothness. It has always
been a source of pride for G&Z that its customers are confident
in the smoothness produced by the rigid and highly productive
S850 and S1500 slipform paving machines. The sacrifice of
smoothness was never an option to G&Z design engineers when
developing these new end sections.
Hawkins Construction Company based in Omaha, NE was
the first contractor to take delivery of G&Z’s New Telescopic
End Sections. Hawkins bid a project at Eppley Airfield with an
extremely aggressive paving schedule. In the past, the options that
would have given them any hope of meeting the schedule were to
have two to three paving kits on-site sectionalized for each pour
or to work the job with two pavers. Using multiple paving kits
still requires a lot of break-down and set-up time which requires
the use of a mechanic’s crane. The cost of multiple paving kits
can be expensive and often times deters contractors from going
this route. Using two pavers is definitely a high cost option and
Time Is Money
Hawkins Construction Paves With New G&Z Telescopic End Sections
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a logistical nightmare for a contractor who has other projects
where the paver could be used. Logistically it is too difficult to
move a paver back and forth between jobsites. A contractor must
consider the lost productivity when a paver is sitting idle. Hiring
a second paving crew to work simultaneously usually is not a
solution because the concrete batch plant often can’t supply
enough concrete to two pavers.
Hawkins and G&Z decided to team up to solve this issue and
develop a viable option to gain telescopic capability within the end
sections of the paving kit. Over a six month period, the engineers
at G&Z, along with input from Terry Kirsch – Equipment
Manager at Hawkins, designed the New Telescopic End Sections.
While the manufacturing process of the entire S850 Slipform
Paver with the Telescopic End Sections was proceeding through
the G&Z plant, Hawkins was present at critical design junctions
to offer suggestions which led to many design improvements
and changes through the process. Terry Kirsch, Ron Mockelman
(Lead Paving Mechanic) and Abraham Adame (Paver Operator)
from Hawkins observed and participated in the final assembly
and testing of the S850 Paver with the Telescopic End Sections.
Hawkins took delivery of the G&Z S850 on April 20, 2009. The
paver has performed above and beyond their expectations. The
aggressive schedule they aligned for the paver is no match for the
capabilities of the machine.
This phase of the Eppley Airfield project consisted of the
reconstruction of Runway 14R-32L and intersecting Taxiway/
Runway 1836. All concrete sections were replaced with 17 inches
(43.18 cm) of jointed plain concrete pavement with 21 in (53.34 cm)
thickened edges in specific locations. The material beneath these
slabs consisted of a 17 in (43.18 cm) sand layer, a 6 in (15.24 cm)
crushed limestone layer, and a 6 in (15.24 cm) layer of cement
treated base (CTB). The runway (14R-32L) section that is being
reconstructed is 6,000 ft (1,828.8 m) long by 150 ft (45.72 m) wide.
This stage of the project included alternating pour widths of 20 ft
(6.09 m), 16.5 ft (5.02 m), and 18.5 ft (5.63 m) for the 150 ft (45.72 m)
wide section. The pour widths were laid out by the designer in
order to accommodate a specific joint pattern. The Taxiway/
Runway 1836 section that is being reconstructed is 3,000 ft (914.4 m)
long and 150 ft (45.72 m) wide. The 150 ft (45.72 m) width was
made up of 8 pours at 18 ft 9 in (5.71 m) each.
With regards to the project schedule, the critical path on this
project was the 120 day window that the airport gave Hawkins
to tear out the intersection of the runways plus 1,000 ft (304.8 m)
on either side of the intersection. This is the part of the project
that required the greatest number and most frequent width
changes with the paver. The Runway 14R-32L section had three
different paving widths with almost daily width changes required.
Hawkins finished this critical stage of the project in less than half
the time given in the allotted 120 day window which allowed the
airport authority to open the runway back up ahead of schedule.
2 days of work becomes a matter of hours.
Pour Schedule for Week of the July 6th
Date Day of Week
No. of Slips Pavement Dimensions
7/6/09 Monday 2 16.5 X 400’
7/7/09 Tuesday 1 20’ X 400’
7/9/09 Thursday 2 20’ X 400’
7/10/09 Friday 2 16.5 X 900’
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With G&Z’s patented 90 degree steering, Hawkins was able to
maneuver the paver very easily from one pour to the next saving
valuable time. If one pour happened to be intersecting with
another pavement, Hawkins was able to put the machine into
its 90 degree steering mode at the end of the pour often leaving
just a small amount of hand pour to fill-in. On pavers without 90
degree steering, for purposes of maneuvering the machine out
and away from the slab, a much larger section of concrete is often
left to hand pour. To protect the machine frame from undesirable
torsional forces when walking the S850 over uneven ground,
the S850’s cross slope / anti-torsion
control system was used.
The Telescopic End Sections have
given Hawkins an incredible edge.
“We can change the width of one
side of the machine with two guys in
1 ½ to 2 hours. It takes about 3 ½ to
4 hours to make a width change on
both sides. It would normally take us 1
to 2 days to perform this operation,” says
Ron Mockelman the lead mechanic on the
Hawkins team. The Telescopic End Sections
can give the contractor the ability to pave a day
sooner compared to a standard width change
operation.
The smoothness obtained with Hawkin’s new S850 with
Telescopic End Sections was exceptional from the start of the
first pour through completion of the project. Though the project
was only specified with a 2/10’s blanking band specification,
Hawkins was curious to know how smooth they could pave with
these new end sections so they analyzed the profilograph traces
under the 1/10th and zero blanking bands as well. The average
of the results under a 2/10th’s blanking band was in the LOW
single digits as measured in inches per mile, while the 1/10th and
zero band results were 10-15 inches per mile and 18-22 inches
per mile respectively. Both Hawkins and the Airport Authority
were very pleased with the smoothness obtained on this project.
As a side note, Hawkins poured several slabs using a previously
poured companion lane slab to establish grade and alignment
while also using G&Z’s patented cross slope control feature.
This allowed them to pave without setting a single stringline for
these passes. Terry Kirsch reported that the smoothness results
under this scenario were well within the 2/10th’s blanking band
specification.
With thousands of yards through Hawkins’ G&Z S850 paver
already, it is evident the S850 with the New
Telescopic End Sections has met the
standard G&Z sets for itself and has
exceeded the needs of the contractor.
Terry Kirsch said of the partnership,
“The venture between Hawkins and
Guntert & Zimmerman was great.
The quality of the work was always the
highest standard.” The S850 itself was a huge
timesaver since it allowed Hawkins to pave different
slab widths everyday without any down time. In the
past this same production with varying widths was
performed with two pavers owned by Hawkins. Ron Mockelman
and his maintenance crew have had nearly no problems with
the S850. The only regular maintenance has been to grease the
plow and jacking columns. One of the greatest time savers for
the maintenance crew is the ability to wash down the S850 in a
minimal amount of time. The open engineered design allows for
ease of clean up and leaves few small spaces for concrete to stick
and dry.
The word coming out of Eppley Airfield from all those at Hawkins
is, “We could not have met the current schedule with any other
piece of equipment than the S850 with the Telescopic End
Sections.” In fact the concrete pavement produced by the S850
is so superb that Hawkins is eager to finish their work at Eppley
Airfield to move the machine to other projects they have in the
area.
P a t e n t Pending
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The construction industry has been using stringless technology
for elevation and steering control of equipment for a number of
years. To date however, the use of this technology in the concrete
paving market has been limited to the grading operation and is
not typically used for the actual paving where stringline is still
the preferred method of guiding the steering and elevation
controls on these machines. This is due to stringline having
been traditionally more reliable for paving operations than a
stringless system when it comes to meeting the strict smoothness
specifications often found on highway projects. In a business
where smoothness reigns supreme, contractors can’t simply
throw caution to the wind and pave with a system in which the
reliability has not been proven.
Even with this in mind, the stringless benefits are undeniable: less
survey costs, fewer man hours setting stakes and string, and no
more office types tripping over “hard to see” stringline on jobsites.
For a paving contractor, the savings associated with stringless
technology simply doesn’t outweigh the cost of grinding out of
specification pavements. As the technology has progressed, the
paving market has become more and more interested. Is it finally
time to see the broad use of stringless technology in the paving
market? Once again, the constantly innovative Iowa DOT has set
out to be a leader in the application and use of new technology.
On September 2, a national open house for concrete overlays
was held in Worth County, IA. Over 100 state DOT employees
(9 states), county engineers, engineering consultants, contractors,
and suppliers attended the one day event. The agenda for the
day featured concrete overlay projects by both Cedar Valley Corp.
and Flynn Co. Inc., who both use G&Z S850 slipform pavers.
Presentations by James Cable of Cable Concrete Consultation
LLC, Tom Cackler, Director of National Concrete Pavement
Technology Center, Matt Morrison, Paving and Key Accounts
Manager for Leica, Ron Guntert, President & CEO of G&Z, and
Jeff Flynn, President of Flynn Co. Inc., were followed by a bus tour
of both jobs.
Cedar Valley recently completed three Worth County projects.
The 24 mile (38.6 km) long, 4 in (10.16 cm) thick, 22 ft (6.7 m) wide
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Iowa Shows Its StuffAnd Goes Stringless
concrete overlay which was paved with traditional stringline,
was selected through an alternate bidding process over a 3
in (7.62 cm) asphalt overlay with 3 in (7.62 cm) cold-in-place
recycling. Because of concrete’s longer life expectancy and lower
maintenance costs, Worth County officials selected concrete as
the material of choice for their overlays rather than asphalt. For
the quality of work achieved on this project and the hundreds of
concrete paving projects previously done by Cedar Valley using a
G&Z S850, G&Z is very proud to call them its partners.
Flynn’s 10.5 mile (16.9 km) Iowa Department of Transportation
project on Hwy 65 near Mason City, IA was a 32 ft (9.75 m) wide,
5 in (12.7 cm) thick unbonded concrete overlay using a stringless
system. The original 24 ft (7.3 m) pavement was widened 4 ft
(1.2 m) in each lane, and Flynn elected to pour at half width to
facilitate local traffic. Iowa DOT specified the use of stringless
technology on this portion of Hwy 65. Flynn’s G&Z S850 was
equipped with Leica Total Station machine controls. As the name
implies, stringless technology replaces the traditional stringline
with an electronic tracking process that controls the horizontal
and vertical operation of the paver. At times, Flynn paved up to
18 fpm (5.48 mpm) achieving smoothness on zero blanking band
as low as 6 in per mile and averaging in low teens for the project
which earned them full bonus incentive.
With the savings in materials and labor, concrete overlays will
be equal to or lesser than asphalt’s initial costs but will always
perform better over the long run. This could result in more jobs
bid for concrete rather than asphalt. With the elimination of
stringline, the use of stringless technology holds special potential
for increasing the application of concrete overlays. Also seen for
the first time was Ames Engineering’s prototype, a real time on
board smoothness measuring device.
Jeff Flynn and his team should be congratulated for paving
the way to a brighter future with stringless paving technology.
Based on the extremely positive reaction of county officials
and attendees at this event, the future of concrete overlays
and stringless technology looks very promising. Iowa alone is
building over 200 miles of concrete overlays in 2009. The Flynn
Company’s constant attention to detail from the project planning
phase through installation is one of the reasons that they are
considered a quality paving contractor.
G&Z would like to say a special thanks to the Flynn Concrete
Paving Team: Mark Gorton, Project Manager, Gary Hoffmann,
Superintendent, and Tim Duffy, Paving Foreman for helping
bring this new technology to the market.
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Thiess Paves With Complete G&Z Concrete Paving System
The construction of concrete roads can be likened to a ballet, if
the contractor, owner, and designer are in step it can be pulled off
flawlessly. If not, it can be a contentious battle. The true fact is
that it benefits both parties to produce long lasting, smooth, and
durable product. As with constructing any large scale project, it
takes many different pieces to come together for a paving project
to run smoothly both in operation and end product. The mind
set the contractor and authority take when going into the project
can drastically affect the outcome. If the contractor and authority
purpose to focus on quality, plan correctly, and work together the
end result can be an unbelievably successful project. G&Z has
been honored to be a part of such a project in Australia.
In late 2006, Thiess Pty Ltd. started initial investigation into new
concrete paving and mixing equipment for a large design build
highway project in eastern Australia along the Pacific Highway.
Thiess Pty Ltd is a wholly owned division of Leighton Holding
Group one of the largest contractors in the world. Thiess was a
part of a team called The C2HC Alliance, comprising of Thiess
and Parsons Brinckerhoff, who were eventually awarded the
project in the spring of 2007 as the New South Wales Road &
Traffic Authority (RTA’s) alliance partner to upgrade a 32.7 km
(20.3 mi) section of the Pacific Highway on the New South Wales
mid-north coast. Located between the regional centers of Taree
and Port Macquarie, the project involves upgrading the existing
highway between Coopernook and Herons Creek with a focus on
providing a high standard four-lane dual highway. The upgrade
of this section of the Pacific Highway will significantly alleviate
its poor safety record, reducing serious accidents and fatalities
along this stretch of road.
The Thiess / Parsons Brinckerhoff team was selected because it
was recognized as having the right vision, necessary experience,
capabilities, understanding, innovative approach and
commitment to work with the RTA. The RTA and Alliance’s key
objectives related to program, safety, quality, environment, and
community requirements. Key factors in the selection process
included: the Alliance’s high level of teamwork; the reputation
and integrity of the organizations and team members; and its
proven ability to perform.
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What More Could A Contractor Ask For?
This AUD$470 million (US$430 million) project is the longest
stretch of the Pacific Highway to ever be constructed as one
project. The 10.5 km (6.5 mi) section between Coopernook and
Moorland is comprised of 3.5 km (2.17 mi) of new two lane
highway and a 7 km (4.3 mi) duplication of the existing highway,
and a single bridge over Two Mile Creek. The 22.2 km (13.8 mi)
Moorland to Herons Creek section comprises 5.2 km (3.2 mi) of
new two lane highway and 17 km (10.5 mi) duplication of the
existing highway. This section includes 16 new bridges and 52
culverts. The project is a missing link in the Pacific Highway and
joins dual highway sections at each end. There are 3 interchanges
along the length of the project.
The unique approach where the specifying authority was a
part of the team helped to quickly eliminate any impairment
to production or quality during the design stage and through
construction. For example, bridge approaches were redesigned
to accommodate the movement of the paving equipment over the
bridges and to minimize hand paving. The team’s commitment to
quality was also emphasized and evident in the final specification
and contract. Because of the potential monetary incentives in
place for the contractor if they met or exceeded certain measures
of pavement quality, there was a large push for the contractor to
produce a durable, smooth and quiet concrete pavement. These
potential quality incentives were a big consideration in the team’s
selection of concrete materials and equipment. For example,
natural river sand was trucked in from over 200 km (124 mi)
away to ensure good slipform concrete mixes and four different
quarries were used to supply aggregate and sands. Concrete
mix designs were done using Shilstone software to optimize the
aggregate gradations.
During the tender phase of the project, the Thiess Plant
Department undertook a review of the required paving resources
for the project and identified that a complete new paving train
and two new batch plants would be required to complete the
project in the allotted time. Prior to the equipment selection
team’s tour of the United States, a desktop review of the available
options with respect to multilane paver manufacturers around
the world was completed.
After a thorough selection process, the selection team
recommended to the Thiess Pty Ltd management team to
purchase the new paving fleet from Guntert & Zimmerman. The
recommendation was accepted and the new fleet was delivered
to site and commissioned in late 2008. The new fleet consisted of
an S1500 Paver, PS1200 Placer Spreader, and two TC1500 Texture
Cure Machines.
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Some of the benefits identified when deciding on the G&Z paving
machines were:
• 90 degree steering capability – very useful on a tight site
and because the project includes some 27 traffic switches,
the multiple paving spreads including concrete plants are
constantly moving along the project to allow the complex
staging to be completed. This was further complicated by
prolonged rainfall during 2008 and first half of 2009 which
meant over 40% of available days were lost due to wet weather.
• Double telescoping tractor frame – ability to telescope to extend
rather than to add in / bolt in frame sections to extend
• Paving kit section – reduced bolts per joint and machined
connections mean less time in kit changes
• Spreader plow – very effective in moving concrete and easier to
change widths
• Fine width kit adjustment – ability to fine tune width of kit
• Hydraulic side forms – split forms make it easier and faster to
back over end of runs
According to Todd Myers, who headed the Thiess equipment
selection team, “The G&Z machines were delivered on time
and the site commissioning process went without incident. The
machines were ready to go to work without any modifications.
G&Z’s service team provides great support, and they really know
the machines.” Myers went on to add that “The back up service
provided by G&Z is second to none. Any issues raised are acted
upon immediately. They are able to provide not only operational
support for the machine, but also advice on mix designs and
the benefits of on-ground experience. The performance of
the machine to date has been excellent with the quality of the
pavement produced to date exceeding expectations. While the
G&Z S1500 machine may not be the cheapest on the market, we
believe that it is the best value for the money. It’s a big capital
investment, but one that has provided good returns in the quality
of the pavement and reliability of the machine.”
Thiess also commissioned G&Z to design a portable and modular
batch plant based on their existing MCP12 design to suit
conditions in Australia. The Thiess / G&Z team have successfully
built and commissioned two of these plants in Australia. These
plants are now setting a new benchmark in concrete production
and quality in this country. G&Z looks forward to bringing
further information regarding the implementation and operation
of Thiess’ batching process in a future issue of G&Z Construction
Profiles.
Thiess is now approximately 50% complete with the Portland
Cement Pavement (PCP) installation and targeted to complete
the project by April 2010. Monthly production has peaked at
nearly 30,000m3 (39,270 cy) during August 2009.
With regards to the smoothness results achieved to date, in
Australia they go by a NAASRA smoothness reading which is
total counts per km as measured by an laser profiler. They take
the mean of all the readings of the lots + standard deviation of all
the lot readings. Less than 35 earns 100% of full bonus. To date
Thiess is running at 30.6 which is considered by many as the best
in Australian concrete paving industry.
Their first day of paving was a 36. A 42 earns no bonus but
no corrective work is required. A 49 requires grinding into
specification but you cannot grind into smoothness bonus. The
best Thiess had previously done was a 33 but most other projects
in the past had been in the low 40s.
The subject of noise is closely related to pavement smoothness as
well as texture. The PCP pavement placed by Thiess is one of the
quietest of all Australian PCP pavements placed in the past. Of
the two sections measured one was 80.4 dBa and other was 82.5
dBa. Noise measured by a drive by test where a microphone is
placed 7.5 m (24 ft) from the CL of the vehicle traveling at a speed
of 100km/hr (60 mph).
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The pavement surface was dragged with a Hessian fabric followed
by transverse tining. Tine depth is 1 mm (.03 in) and width 3 mm
(.11 in). Tine pattern is random with widest 19 mm (.75 in) and
average spacing 12 mm (.47 in) and the pattern repeats every 250
mm (9.8 in).
A trial of longitudinal diamond grinding to evaluate reduced
noise was also carried out with results surprisingly high. These
high results were put down to a low number (200) of blades per
4 ft. Drum vs. recommend 220 to 240 per drum to reduce fin size
left. Large fins have been found to contribute to noise.
An exposed aggregate trial completed by another contractor
for the RTA some 10 years ago showed very similar noise levels
(81dBA) as achieved by Thiess with the transverse tining on
this project. The combination of consistent concrete from the
new G&Z batch plants and the quality of the tining from the
new TC1500 machines is credited with producing the low noise
values.
Job FactsPavements Design PCC150mm lean Mix Subbase (5Mpa)260mm Base (35mpa)Base concrete is Unreinforced Plain Concrete with sawn skewed transverse joints at 4.2m spacing. Single sawn blade longitudinal joint.
Subbase paved at 10.1m wide. Base paved at 8.0m wide. The placer spreader was used for all base to pre-spread. Shoulder paved in a subsequent operation with shoulder paver at 2.0m wide or 3.0m wide if a gutter is required.
Pavement Design Low Noise220mm thick Lean Mix Subbase (5Mpa)175mm thick Dense Grade Asphalt30mm thick Open Grade Asphalt
Total project length is 32.7km of dual carriageway.Pavement typesExisting Highway reuse 4.5kmPlain Concrete Pavement 46.5kmLow Noise 10.5kmStructures 1.8km
Concrete QuantitiesTotal Subbase 122,000m3Total Base 152,000m3Structural Concrete 46,000m3 (Bridges box Culverts Etc)
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The conveyor is conveniently controlled from the loader controls inside the cab of the loader. The speed of the belt is controlled by the engine RPM and the flow of oil through the control values. The folding and travel features are controlled from auxiliary controls on the conveyor base at ground level.
G&Z TEAMS UP WITH
TO BRING YOU THE PORTABLE MODULAR CONVEYOR
Manufactured under one or more of the following U.S. or Foreign Patents: 4,433,936; 4,483,584; 0051885; 6,390,727; 6,390,726; 6,176,643B1; 5,135.333 and 117323 and Patents Pending. Some items shown may be optional. G&Z reserves the right to make improvements in design, material, and/or changes in specifications at any time without notice and without incurring any obligation related to such changes.
Brochure No. 400P101
Guntert & Zimmerman Const. Div., Inc.222 E. Fourth St. Ripon, CA 95366 U.S.A.Phone 209-599-0066 Fax 209-599-2021Toll Free 800-733-2912 Email [email protected] Web www.guntert.com
Construction Profiles is published by Guntert & Zimmerman to inform readers of applied construction technology utilizing Guntert & Zimmerman equipment. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the consent of Guntert & Zimmerman. Printed in U.S.A.
For more information, please contact John Eisenhour at (405) 371-5180 or Ron Meskis at (209) 568-7406.