Long Booms Complete 10-Hour Foundation Pour
General contractor Devon Industrial Group, Detroit, Mich., brought in operators and equipment from pumping contractor Cross Concrete Pumping, Melvindale, Mich., to complete the foundation for a 10-story residence hall on the Wayne State University Campus in Detroit.
“The excavation is L-shaped,” said Frank Ferretti, Vice President of Operations for Cross. “From the bend outward, each leg measures around 200 feet long, and the entire hole is about 80 feet wide.”
To pour the 4,795 yards total concrete, Cross brought in four Schwing boom pumps. One S 58 SX, one S 47 SX and two KVM 55 concrete pumps were set up around the excavation on May 29 at 2:00am.
“We used to execute these types of pours with shorter booms, but today it’s all about reach. Contractors are requiring that we complete the pour without having to relocate the pumps,” said Ferretti.
Ready-mix supplier Michigan Foundation Company, Trenton, Mich., dispatched 70 truck mixers from four separate batch plants to supply concrete throughout the 10-hour pour.
The Wayne State University Detroit campus is located immediately downtown surrounded by busy commuter streets. Initially, Devon Project Manager Jim Kretz was concerned with the tight urban conditions. With the help of Project Engineer Jeremy Zeller and the rest of the Devon engineering team, the general contractor managed to involve all the right parties to ensure smooth execution.
“The engineers were there throughout the entire effort,” said Ferretti. “The team managed to set up barricades and coordinated lane closures. They had the help of the Detroit police for rerouting traffic and handling some of the ready mix access issues. It went very smoothly.”
Devon will deal with precast elements throughout the remaining construction on the residence hall, and the general contractor wasted no time setting up shop. Two hours before Cross installed their last yard, Devon crews went to work erecting walls on the completed portion of the foundation. A half-hour after Cross wrapped up pumping at 12:00 noon, Devon placed 200 lineal feet of 10-foot wall to finish the day.
