The Situation
Utility company, PPL, was in need of a refurbished 15-acre parking lot at their Lehigh service center. As an alternative to using a top asphalt layer, Carl Bales, Jr., of Carl Bales Excavation proposed roller compacted concrete (RCC).
“ RCC opens up a door for us. The advantage is that it’s strong like concrete, but you put it down like asphalt in a single lift.”
The Solution
PPL needed something durable enough to withstand the heavy
traffic that was also cost effective. Bales decided to propose roller compacted
concrete because of a previous job he had worked on for Matheson Gas Advanced
Gas Technologies that turned out extremely well. Ott Engineering, who was
in charge of the job for PPL, inspected the Matheson Gas project. They were
impressed with the results and decided to approach PPL about using RCC.
Price was also a big consideration for the project. Paving
with RCC came in at $875,000, cheaper than the cost of conventional concrete,
$1.2 million. RCC also came in lower than the bid for asphalt.
Roller compacted concrete (RCC) is a drier mix that is
strong like concrete, but is put down like asphalt. Bales paved about
three-quarters of the job in 2010 and will finish out the job this year. One
concern on the project was how the RCC would withstand the winter. David
Zmijewski of Geo-Technology Associates, Inc. said the RCC held up “unbelievably
well” throughout the winter season after being exposed to over 500 tons of
salt. “RCC opens up a door for us. The advantage is that it’s strong like
concrete, but you put it down like asphalt in a single lift,” says
Zmijewski. “I’ve run into issues with heavy truck traffic where concrete
is too expensive and the asphalt doesn’t hold up as well. RCC is a good system
for those applications. It fills a niche.”
RCC is becoming more popular among industrial and commercial sites because of its durability, ease of application and cost.
Concrete, It Just Makes Cents!
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