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Construction Forms,
Inc. News
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Hydraulic Concrete Placer Keeps Airport Project Flying Right |
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by Kim Lacina
Consolidated Rental Car Facility
Ft. Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport
As part of a master plan to ease airport traffic congestion and develop the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport into a world-class gateway to Broward County, the construction of a multi-level, 9,000-parking space, Consolidated Rental Car Facility is underway. When completed, the $180 million structure will provide multiple floors of public parking and house all of the airport's rental car agencies. The new facility will provide passengers with simplified rental car pick-up and delivery, easier access to terminals and will eliminate the fleets of shuttle busses contributing to increased airport traffic.
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Call us at (800) 223-3676 for complete information on hydraulic placers |
In 1996, the joint venture of Cummings-Centex Rooney worked with Form Works, of Ft. Lauderdale, to build the airport's $62 million Hibiscus parking structure. The group finished the project two months early and $1.5 million under budget. They were subsequently hired in 2002 by Broward County, and Broward's program manager, URS Corporation, to construct the Consolidated Rental Car Facility (CRCF), adjacent to the Hibiscus structure. The CRCF is one of the largest parking structure construction projects in the state of Florida.
The group began site preparation in April of 2002, relocating major utilities including power and sewer lines. In accordance with the County's stringent environmental codes, they also uprooted and moved 330 trees, which were donated to local Broward County parks. In November of 2002, the joint venture of Form Works/Baker, under the direction of Managing General Contractor, Cummings-Centex Rooney, broke ground.
While the Hibiscus parking structure is a 7-level, 1.8 million square foot structure, requiring nearly 57,000 cubic yards of concrete in its construction, the CRCF will be 9 levels, 4.5 million square feet, and use 140,000 cubic yards of concrete. The new facility will measure 1020' long, 440' wide and 105' high, with over 10 acres of concrete floor area per level.
Rob Gillette, Senior Project Manager for Cummings-Centex Rooney, cited the aggressive schedule and the massive amount of concrete required as two of the project's major challenges. "This is bond-financed program, and the County needs to start generating revenue to pay for these bonds. We must have the first four floors completely ready for use by December 31, 2004, and the entire project completed by August, 2005."
Faced with building the structure in less than two years, the issue of concrete placement became paramount. Needing to pour 85,000 square feet of concrete every week for 52 weeks, the Managing General Contractor and the construction team looked at various placing methods. The final choice between using multiple placing booms situated throughout the structure, or a hydraulic placer, which could be moved from spot to spot, came down to cost and capabilities. "The placer," said Gillette, "turned out to be the best possible solution for the project."
Baker Concrete Construction does the majority of the concrete pumping, using a 45-meter Schwing pump truck, with help from Brothers Concrete Pumping Service of Ft. Lauderdale. To pour the metal-formed columns, Brothers uses 28, 32 and 36-meter Putzmeister pumps outfitted with remote controlled shut-off valves. Because of the height of the boom tip when pouring the columns and the need to precisely control the concrete flow and placement, manual shut-off methods were impractical. Steve Merson, President of Brothers, states, "We outfitted every pump we have with Air Cuff shut-off valves. The operators love it. They are able to control the concrete, without dropping any on the finished decks as they moved from column to column."
When the columns are poured, the wood-formed decks are constructed, and rebar, as well as rough-in mechanical, electrical and plumbing, is installed. The decks are then ready for concrete. For decks, Baker is operating a 45-meter Schwing and Brothers Concrete uses both a 52-meter Schwing and a 52-meter Putzmeister. Since the pump trucks can only reach the edges of these large deck pours, a Con Forms 60' hydraulic placer is being used. The powered placer is operated by radio remote control and the operator can maneuver the 3600 articulating boom around the columns and pour about 100 cubic yards from one spot. Kenny Lewis, General Superintendent for Form Works/Baker, explained the process of moving it. "We just pick it up with a crane and fly it to the next spot - it takes about 15 minutes."
"We're currently pumping about 20,000 square feet a day, " said General Superintendent for Form Works, John Grieshaber, "and it's working out well. The placer is the best possible solution for us." Donald Marks, President of Form Works, agreed, "Although we've used placing devices before, this is the first time we've used a hydraulic placer. It's been great. Traditionally, we would have four or five guys manually moving the boom. With the placer, it takes only one guy to operate it, and we're happy with the production." Darrell Crowson, Project Manager for Form Works/Baker, stated that in terms of efficient use of people and equipment, "it's working out as we expected it would."
When deck construction is completed, the ground level decks will be poured, and for that part of the process, Form Works/Baker will mount the placer on an aluminum rail system and roll it along the areas to be poured. Lewis states, "We'll set up 20' or 40' of rail system and use an air tugger to pull it."
The construction group is on schedule to meet their deadlines, with over 400 workers currently on site. This number will grow to over 600 workers as the project progresses. The completed facility will be one piece of the County's plan to expand and develop the Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Other pieces of the proposed development include a new international terminal, a hotel, and a people mover (possibly a monorail or light-rail system) linking the airport, seaport and downtown Ft. Lauderdale. In addition, County Commissioners have proposed an intermodal center, providing airline and cruise passengers with a consolidated point for check-in, baggage transfer and Federal inspection services. The County's expansion strategy is based on a 68% increase in passenger growth between 1992 and 1999, and an expected doubling of travelers using the airport by 2015.
| Owner: | Broward County |
| Program Manager: | URS Corporation |
| Architect: | Spillis Candela |
| Managing General Contractor: | Cummings-Centex Rooney, JV |
| Concrete Contractor: | Form Works/Baker JV, LLC |
| Auxiliary Concrete Pumping: | Brothers Concrete Pumping Service |
| Ready-Mix: | Rinker Materials |
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