The Top Concrete Stories of January 2021

Not only do hundreds of Google alerts flood my inbox based on a smattering of keywords, but we're also trying to get some new and original stories out to you on a regular basis. We're constantly looking for subject matter experts to serve some great insider know-how into new projects, issues, as well as happenings in the concrete industry. 

Oh, and yeah, we're checking the event site as often as we can to get you the latest on World of Concrete 2021. 

That said, it's always interesting to look back. Here are the most popular new stories from January 2021.

Small Cold Weather Concrete Projects

While there have been countless articles written about the challenges involving ready-mixed concrete when faced with cold weather, this article will focus on cold weather concreting tips and best practices for those smaller projects utilizing bagged concrete or related concrete repair materials. This can help concrete contractors to employ the right cold-weather concreting precautions and practices from the fall into the spring of any given year.

Dirk Tharpe even includes a handy infographic on the setting time of concrete at various temperatures. 

ForConstructionPros.com/21220508

The Story of the Demolition of an 8-ft. Thick Concrete Pier

Water in a 24-inch pipe in the intake froze, damaging an 8-foot-thick concrete pier. To minimize the impact on the overall project, Keeyask managers opted to use Hydrodemolition to remove the damaged section. The job required a specialized contractor, one able to leverage all of their experience and equipment to overcome environmental and logistical challenges, while delivering quality results.

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How an N95 Mask Facility was Built in 52 Days

Gage Brothers Concrete Products, a member of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, stepped up its production and was instrumental in completing a project to allow increased manufacturing of the vital N95 masks used by medical personnel and first responders fighting COVID-19.Gage Brothers Concrete ProductsAs the COVID-19 pandemic worsened over the early months of 2020, Sioux Falls, S.D.,-based Gage Brothers Concrete Products were tasked to step up production on the construction of a manufacturing facility of N95 masks. The client, 3M Aberdeen was awarded a U.S. Department of Defense contract to increase production. 

It wasn't a small facility either, at 4400 sq.-ft. production needed to start as soon as possible. 

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One Ready-Mix Concrete Company got into a Little Legal Problem

Argos USA LLC, a producer and seller of ready-mix concrete headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix prices, rig bids, and allocate markets for sales of ready-mix concrete in the Southern District of Georgia and elsewhere, the Department of Justice announced.  

According to the one-count felony charge filed today in the U.S. District Court in Savannah, employees of Argos and other ready-mix concrete companies carried out the charged conspiracy by coordinating the issuance of price-increase letters to customers, allocating specific ready-mix concrete jobs in the coastal Georgia area, charging fuel surcharges and environmental fees, and submitting bids to customers at collusive and noncompetitive prices.  The charged conspiracy began as early as 2010 and continued until about July 2016.

ForConstructionPros.com/21220103

Spec Change Replaced 45 ft of Pipe

Delaware City Logistics Park is a two million-square-foot modern distribution and fulfillment park that enables corporate tenants to serve millions of customers across the Eastern United States and Canada every day. Strategically located south of Wilmington near the fragile Delaware River Watershed, a robust stormwater management system from Rinker Materials was installed by Corrado Construction to protect the 190-acre property and four-building campus from flooding.

The $136-million project owned by Northpoint Development features a stormwater management system designed by Duffield and Associates that was constructed using a combination of round and elliptical reinforced concrete pipe (RCP). Nearly 9,000 linear feet of round RCP ranging in diameter from 12 in. to 54 in., and 29 in. by 45 in. through 38 in. by 60 in. elliptical RCP make up the drainage system, which will easily accommodate the 45” of annual rain and one foot of annual snow in the area each year.

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