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South Quad Parking Deck |
Precision Controlled Blasting
Just a few days after
finishing the City Library Project for the City of Fayetteville, Dykon was
contacted by Baldwin & Shell Construction Co., the construction managers for the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, with a similar project.
A multi-story parking facility had to be built in the heart of the University of
Arkansas Campus, just across the street from the building that housed the Sam
Walton College of Business.
Just
north of and directly across the street from the proposed site for the new
parking garage was the University Physics Building. This facility hosted
laser research equipment that required alignment of instrumentation on the
molecular level.
Just East of the proposed site was a row of residential housing for Students,
and south of the edge of the site was a 3-story apartment complex which was only
45 feet from the deepest cut on the entire project.
Adding yet another level of difficulty to this already formidable project was the fact that since the inception of the University of Arkansas in the late 1800's, the use of drilling and blasting had never been permitted for rock removal on any project whatsoever. Before any Precision Controlled Blasting could be performed, the University officials had to be convinced it could be done safely, economically and on schedule.
The Dykon Blasting Technical
Team met with University officials to discuss the possibility and feasibility of
lifting the University wide ban on rock blasting for this project. Safety
to the students and surrounding public were of the utmost concern for the
University officials. Secondary to that was the safety to University
concerns such as the Physics Department, the Mechanical Department and the Business
College. The Blasting could not be allowed to compromise public safety,
property or ongoing academic activities.
The building of this parking deck required the excavation of nearly 40,000 cubic yards of rock underneath as much dirt for the leveling of the site for the building. Most of this material had to be hauled off site. The enormous amount of rock excavation coupled with the time-frame requirements for project completion made mechanical breakage of rock cost prohibitive. The cost of mechanical breaking of this rock in that stringent of a timeframe drove the projected cost of the project to amounts that threatened the feasibility of the Parking Deck altogether.
The first hurdle was to
convince the University of Arkansas that the rock could be precisely drilled and blasted
in a safe, timely and economical fashion. The second hurdle was to
convince the University of Arkansas that Dykon Blasting was the right choice to
perform this landmark project. The third hurdle was yet to come. It
became apparent after several meetings with the University officials and the
General Contractor, Baldwin and Shell, that Precision Controlled Blasting of
rock would be allowed on this project and that Dykon Blasting was going to be
the ones performing it for the university.
The
blasting had to be scheduled for optimum safety to the public, minimal impact to
the surrounding residents and university activities, not the least of which were
ongoing laser research experiments being conducted in the physics lab.
With this being the first Precision Controlled Blasting ever allowed on
University projects and with the Physics Lab just across the street, ground
vibration limits were imposed that reflected the University's concerns for
safety to adjacent properties. All eyes were focused on the blasting phase
of this project. Five seismographs were used to monitor ground vibrations
in several directions from each blast. Extensive preblasting surveys were
used to document the existing conditions to all structures within a
predetermined radius of the project. Shallow cuts and small shots were
used to minimize the ground born vibrations. All the shots were covered
with blankets of heavy blasting mats to eliminate the possibility of flying
debris posing a safety hazard to pedestrians and property. Dual train
horns were used on an established and published sequence to warn of an impending
blasting event. Personnel were stationed at all access points and borders
along the streets to watch for Pedestrians. Radio contact on a private
channel was maintained constantly with the blaster in charge so that he knew
when the site was secure of workers and pedestrians before initiating the final
countdown for a blasting event.
The
cooperation and tolerance of the general public and the University was
remarkable. With this extra-ordinary support from the surrounding
community, the University and all the onsite contractors, Dykon Blasting was
able to complete the drilling and blasting successfully. We at Dykon
Blasting cannot thank those who participated in the success of this project
enough. The University, faculty, staff and students were cooperative and
supportive to an unparalleled level. A special thanks goes out to
Northwest Excavating, Baldwin & Shell Construction Co., and Rick Hamilton,
construction coordinator for the U of A, for their cooperation and support.
Mr.
Hamilton had this to say about the Precision Controlled Drilling and Blasting of
this project after it's completion:
"It has always been the policy
of the U of A to not allow ANY blasting on our construction projects. Through a
very sensitive program of education and communication with our Faculty, and
Staff, and a very conservative strategy in blasting, we were allowed to proceed
with the Blasting in construction. We were able to accomplish these portions of
the construction with an absolute minimum of disturbances to the closely
surrounding Housing, Colleges, and Classes. As you know, we had the on-going
laser experiments being performed by our Physics Department - whose building
site directly adjoins our site. It should be made clear that these experiments
must hold laser alignment at the sub-atomic level, and by closely coordinating
public information of blast times with Physics, and conservative blasting
procedures, avoided any failed experiments. We were very pleased
with the outcome of the blasting, and the negative effects were so very minimal
as to be not worth mentioning. The Time and Cost Savings were incredible.
Thanks to this good experience, blasting, with qualified firms such as yours, is
now an option to large-scale University of Arkansas construction."
Rick Hamilton
Construction Coordinator
University of Arkansas
Relevant Links
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Northwest Excavating, Inc. |
Project Pictures
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Movie Clip (coming soon) |