Above Ground Category
First Place
Olympia-Yashiro Friendship Bridge
Pacific Precast Inc., Vancouver, Wash.
Breathtaking views of Puget Sound from the Olympia-Yashiro Friendship Bridge in Olympia, Wash, attract thousands of tourists, bicyclists and birdwatchers each year.
A community fixture for decades, the bridge required repair after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in 2001. Designers took the opportunity to adorn the bridge with sidewalk mosaics, traditional lamp posts and precast concrete railing.
After the earthquake, work began on repairing the bridge and updating its aesthetic look. Local officials had high expectations for the bridge’s safety and its looks and selected Pacific Precast Inc. of Vancouver, Wash. To manufacture 1,800 feet of precast concrete railing. With a polished look that resembles terra cotta casting, the precast railing provides a natural look with a slick finish to the touch.
To get the right look and quality product for the city, Pacific Precast Inc. embedded electrodes into the concrete to monitor temperatures and humidity. By connecting probes to a computer and casting molds in a warm, insulated room, the company controlled the humidity and cool-down rate of the concrete to yield a flawless, crack-free product.
Beyond the aesthetic appeal of the railing, installation was completed three months ahead of schedule and significantly under budget. Olympia residents and tourists are back to bicycling and birdwatching on the bridge. And the views are now more breathtaking than before.
Company Profile
Pacific Precast Inc.
503 Grand Ave.
Vancouver , WA 98661
(360) 699-4422
www.precastrail.com
Second Place
The Jefferson at Logan Circle
Smith-Midland Corp., Midland, Va.
Third Place
Westtown Road Bridge Reconstruction
Terre Hill Concrete Products, Terre Hill, Pa.
Underground Category
First Place
Borragas Avenue Sewer Replacement
Central Precast, Livermore, Calif.
Precast concrete wasn’t part of the initial plan for the extensive Borragas Avenue sewer replacement project in Sunnyvale, Calif. The complex nature of the project along with an opportunity to realize significant cost savings led the contractor to precast concrete after the project had been originally specified for cast-in-place. Central Precast manufactured 11 precast concrete junction structures with channels for 42-inch pipe. The largest junction structure weighed 74,000 pounds and was cast in two pieces.
To make matters more complex, two of the structures were specially-configured. The split-designed structures included one 42-inch vitrified clay pipe flowing into two 33-inch vitrified clay pipe lines. The 42-inch line is split at the junction structure into two 33-inch lines, which pass underneath existing utilities, and then are rejoined at another junction structure back into a single 42-inch sewer line. This design was specified to bypass the underground utilities.
By changing the original plan and incorporating precast concrete, the project owner realized a cost savings of 10 percent.
Company Profile
Central Precast Concrete
3049 Independence Dr.
Livermore , CA 94551
(925) 960-8755
www.central-precast.com
Second Place
Acid Resistant Concrete Manholes
M&W Concrete Pipe & Supply, Evansville, Ind.
Third Place
Shell Group Wastewater Treatment Plant
Gainey’s Concrete Products Inc.
Are you CUP-worthy?
Compete with your peers and show us innovative, precast projects you were a part of in 2006.
Visit www.precast.org/awards this fall for details.
The Creative Use of Precast (CUP) Awards recognizes those projects promoting the innovative and cost-saving advantages of precast concrete over other materials.
Winners will be recognized at the Salute to Excellence program, in Precast Inc. magazine and in other trade publications. Attendance at the Salute to Excellence program is not required to receive an award.
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