Heavy Duty Pervious Concrete
Breaks the Mold in New Jersey

The Forsgate Industrial Park, located off the New Jersey Turnpike, consists of more than 10 million square feet of warehouses and other buildings. The owners, Forsgate Industrial Partners, are always looking for progressive ways to improve their properties while being environmentally sensitive.

A project consultant, Adonis Crispo, of The Reynolds Group, first learned about pervious concrete from a regionally hosted Webinar and saw it would fit many of Forsgate’s needs.

One project, a 250-by-60-foot loading dock with 12-foot wide lanes in front of each dock posed a particular challenge. It required strengths of at least 4,000 psi for the loading dock area. However, a “typical” pervious concrete mix has compressive strengths around 3,000 psi.

New Jersey Concrete and Aggregate Association Member, Phillips Concrete, of East Brunswick, N.J., produced a “heavy duty” pervious concrete mix for Forsgate Industrial Park, consisting of one-half inch aggregate, 15 percent sand, and 2 pounds of synthetic fibers. The 8-inch thick slab was placed by Mark Construction over a 14-inch layer of clean aggregate. The heavy duty mix had seven-day breaks of over 3,650 psi, and the 28-day breaks exceeded the required 4,000 psi by at least 500 psi.

Infrastructure Webcast and White Paper Now Available

In an hour Webcast on June 30, Ed Sullivan, PCA chief economist, shared his most recent economic forecast and his assessment of the impact the stimulus plan and other federal policy will have on the cement and concrete industries in the upcoming years.

The U.S. construction industry will no doubt be boosted by the historic $787 billion economic stimulus plan, but it may take some time before the impact is felt – both in actual infrastructure spending and in job creation, said Sullivan.

This is the second in a series of four infrastructure-related Webcasts.  Additional topics scheduled include a legislative update.

The Webcast is recorded and available for viewing. A companion white paper is available as well.
Click here to view the Webcast.
Click here to download the white paper.

BYU Researchers Explore Reclamation Techniques Under PCA Fellowship

On June 18, PCA presented a check for $20,000 to researchers at Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, for an educational fellowship to study Full-Depth Reclamation Using Cement Slurry and Microcracking. The project was one of three selected by the PCA Educational Foundation at PCA’s Spring Meeting in Chicago. Pictured (left to right) are Don Clem, PCA-Rocky Mountain Cement Council, Charles Hope, student recipient, advisor Professor W. Spencer Guthrie.

The objectives of Hope's research project are to 1) design, build, demonstrate, and evaluate a prototype cement slurry spreader that will facilitate dust-free cement applications and 2) investigate the utility of different portable devices potentially useful for monitoring the microcracking process developed for minimizing shrinkage cracking.

The PCA Education Foundation Research Fellowship identifies and rewards outstanding masters and doctoral students in the fields of engineering and physical sciences who are studying areas that advance the science and technology of cement and concrete.  PCA’s Education Foundation presents the students with $20,000 each for university and study costs.
Contact Don Clem

Salt River Materials Group Recognized for Making Work "Work"

For the second year in a row, Salt River Materials Group has been named a winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility, distinguishing the employer as a leading practitioner of workplace flexibility and effectiveness. Salt River Materials Group was recognized at an awards event held June 11, 2009.

To address challenges faced by the current economic downturn, SRMG asked its employees to volunteer for reduced work weeks.  The employees participating can use their personal time for the time not worked, or can choose to take it unpaid, reducing their pay amount without affecting other company benefits.  An extraordinary number of employees have volunteered for the reduced work week and everyone is appreciative of this option as an alternative to layoffs.

“We aren’t surprised by the large number of employees who volunteered for reduced work week,” says Salt River Materials Group President and CEO, Roger Smith.  “Because we continue to be flexible in the workplace, employees recognize our company is a great place to work, and will always give back.” 

The Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility recognize organizations that are striving to find new ways to make work “work” in today’s challenging economy. The Sloan Awards honor organizations of all sizes and all types across the country that are using workplace flexibility as a strategy to increase workplace effectiveness and yield positive business results, and to help employees succeed at work and at home.

ACI Notes Recognized by SEAOI

PCA’s publication Notes on ACI 318-08 Building Requirement for Structural Concrete with Design Application received the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI) 2009 Meritorious Publication Award as part of SEAOI’s Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards Program.  The award was presented at the association’s Annual Banquet on June 6.

Notes is designed to assist the design engineer and architect in the state-of-the-art application of the latest American Concrete Institute (ACI) structural concrete design standard (ACI 318-08).  The emphasis is placed on “how-to-use” the code incorporating discussions behind the code provisions and fully worked design solutions to real world problems.
Contact Lawrence Novak

Szoke Appointed to ICC Sustainable Building Committee

PCA Director of Codes and Standards, Steve Szoke, has been appointed to the newly formed 29-member International Code Council (ICC) Sustainable Building Technology Committee.

The Committee’s goal is to adopt the first ever comprehensive and adoptable green building regulations, entitled International Green Construction Code (IGCC).   The new code will complement the existing family of I-codes by providing the regulatory framework necessary to drive green building into everyday practice.  Steve Skalko will serve as an alternate.
Contact Steve Szoke

Economic Seminar Registration Open

"Practical Application of PCA Economic Forecast & Market Assessments,” providing marketing and corporate planning professionals the tools to fully understand and utilize PCA's market and economic data, will be offered August 4-5 in the PCA Skokie, Ill., headquarters.

Attendees will gain insight into how PCA creates the projections and the risks and turning points contained in each economic forecast. The seminar will show how market professionals can monitor macroeconomic indicators to determine if PCA projections are on track.

Cost is $295 for PCA members and $750 for non-members. All attendees will receive several PCA Economic Research publications including the 2008 Annual Yearbook.
Register on line at www.cement.org/learn.

U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Innovative Bridge Research Fund Recipients

The Secretary of Transportation announced the recipients of the Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (IBRD) program funds for 2009 on June 24.  More than $5.2 million in grants were given to 14 states for 20 bridges.  Fourteen of the bridge projects involve reinforced or prestressed concrete bridge elements, accounting for $3.5 million (67%) of the grants.

A number of states are using precast concrete bridge elements to accelerate bridge construction, including one in a seismic region.  Several states are also using the funds to study different bridge elements, including a comparative study of the types of steel reinforcing bars most resistant to corrosion and a light-weight epoxy overlay to seal a bridge deck.
Contact Sue Lane
For a listing of all of the IBRD projects, visit www.fhwa.dot.gov

U.S. Construction Pulse Delivers National Economic Data

PCA’s U.S. Construction Pulse provides cutting-edge information and insight into the U.S. construction industry.  It includes general economic trends, construction activity indicators and real and nominal construction spending for 35 categories, presented in ready-to-use slides and spreadsheets. 

Indicators are broken down into residential, nonresidential and public construction sectors.

The packet is distributed monthly ensuring the most current data and includes a one-year forecast as well as historical look back.  Written commentary from PCA staff economists supplements each report.  It is an invaluable resource for business planners and sales executives as well as engineers, contractors, industry consultants, manufacturers, market analysts, and distributors.

An annual subscription is available for $500. Construction Pulse is available at no charge for PCA members. 
For more information or to order, visit www.cement.org/econ.

Pervious Makes a Splash in Kansas City

A recent report in the Kansas City Star on pervious concrete stresses both environmental benefits and durability while showcasing area applications. In “A New Type of Pervious Concrete Surfaces in KC,” reporter Jim Sullinger interviews area advocates and experts—including Christy Martin, Concrete Promotional Group of Greater Kansas City—and local public works officials on how the material works and its advantages. A video on the newspaper’s Website offers a first-hand demonstration.
View the story at www.kansascity.com