CORE Consultants, Inc.’s Post

The Liber Civils team has been chatting about an exciting and challenging project we completed for one of our longest standing client’s Madison Square Holdings. We’ve been going through the steps involved: Step 5: Roads and Services A key factor in building roads is managing the integrity of the underground services that run beneath the road. When a road is backfilled or recompacted over these services it is important that there is structural integrity so that once the road is tarred or paved the underground services are protected from road surface settlement. In addition, the shape of the road is critically important so that stormwater run-off dovetails with the stormwater reticulation systems. https://smpl.is/85hhg

A massive failure! That's what you see in this photo by Eric George of the Building Performance Group in Kentucky. Look at that oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing on the outside of the structural insulated panels used to build the house. It's wet and rotten. Why? Here's a hint. To get this photo, all the workers had to do was remove the siding. Yep. It was sheathing then siding. NO DRAINAGE PLANE! NO WINDOW FLASHING! But once they saw the problem, they "fixed" it. And when I say "they," I mean the contractor that found the problem, not Eric's company. Four months later, Eric's company got the call and they did get it fixed. Here's the rest of the story: https://lnkd.in/eEVVUpwa Happy #WTFriday! #buildingscience #buildingenvelope #buildingenclosure #drainageplane #moisturecontrol #construction

Municipalities that only use one or two pavement preservation treatments are hurting themselves. Imagine you're building a house, but the only tools you brought to the job site are a hammer and drill. It's going to be tough to build that house, right? You need a full toolbox with the right tools for the job as the building progresses through different stages. Unfortunately, Pavement preservation is similar. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment. As a city or county, not utilizing a full "toolbox" of surface treatments is setting yourself up to fail.   At Holbrook Asphalt, we believe that there are several very good surface treatments than can be utilized in a successful preservation program. The key is using them in the correct situation. #pavementpreservation #assetmanagement #publicworks #innovation #engineering #roads #streets

PROJECT UPDATE | I-70 Floyd Hill Project Underway The $700 Million project, from west of Evergreen to eastern Idaho Springs, encompasses an eight mile section of the I-70 Mountain Corridor. It includes approximately 150,000 tons of HMA/SMA. Fun fact: Stone mastic (matrix) asphalt (SMA) requires more durable aggregates, higher asphalt content, modified asphalt binder and fibers and is generally more expensive than a typical dense-graded Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA). In the right situations SMA is cost-effective because of its increased rut resistance and improved durability. I-70 Floyd Hill Improvement Goals: ⏺ Add a third westbound I-70 travel lane in this two-lane bottleneck. This new lane will be a full-time, tolled Express Lane from just west of Homestead Road (Exit 247) through the Veterans Memorial Tunnels to Colorado Blvd./Idaho Springs (Exit 241). ⏺ Rebuild bridges due to use, wear and tear, and heavy usage. ⏺ Construct a missing two-mile section of the frontage road between US 6 and the Hidden Valley/Central City Parkway interchanges, which will improve emergency response. ⏺ Build an extended on-ramp from US 6 onto eastbound I-70 for slow-moving vehicles to have more room to merge. ⏺ Improve traffic flow and access at interchanges and intersections. ⏺ Improve sight distance and safety by straightening roadway curves. ⏺ Improve the Clear Creek Greenway trail. ⏺ Implement environmental mitigation to enhance wildlife connectivity, air and water quality, stream conditions and recreation. ⏺ Install two permanent air quality monitors. Project Schedule: Construction on the East Section began in July 2023 and will last until summer 2026. Construction on the West Section began in March 2024 and will last until summer 2028. Construction on the Central Section will begin in fall 2024 and last until late 2028. *Note: During design, the West Section was originally estimated to start in early 2024 and be completed in fall 2027, and the Central Section was estimated to start in spring 2024. These dates shifted as the project team worked through design and adjusted the timeline to account for seasonal environmental constraints that could affect construction. Follow Colorado Construction & Design® magazine for impressive Colorado construction industry announcements and project updates. #infrastructure #colorado #constructionlife #aggregates #asphalt #rockymountains #coloradoconstruction #constructionnews

New Blog - what kills street trees In this fortnight's blog post we talk about three ways to kill trees on construction sites. What can affect them and how what might seem like something minor can cause major issues later on. Click the link below to read. https://lnkd.in/gwNyT4Pi #construction #newblog

Our commitment to excellence goes beyond the surface – we understand the critical role shotcrete plays in creating robust, enduring structures. 🏙 Whether it's for underground infrastructure, slope stabilization, or architectural enhancements, our pressure grouting solutions ensure that every project stands the test of time. ⏰ #pressuregrouting #construction #constructionlife #constructionindustry #soilremediation #earthretention #infrastructure #stablefoundations

How Material Science Makes or Breaks a Build   In this episode of Build Better Homes, we dissect a real-world building failure case in Alaska from Nate’s own professional experience. Nate MacIntyre(@n.macintyre on IG) is a friend I’ve worked with for years and is an expert on building envelope and construction defects.   Explore how dissecting building mishaps can improve future construction designs and prevent disasters.   #buildbetterhomes #buildingfailure #materialscience #extremeweather #buildingphysics #modulusofelasticity #Alaskanconstruction #constructionfails #preventativemaintenance #buildingresearch

In case you are "one of these people", who, like me enjoy knowing how things are put together, this may interest you. Do you know what these two construction progress photos from the new QuikTrip in Maryland Heights, MO show? It's the cage installation for the fuel canopy piers. It's amazing when you think about all the work that is "in the ground" on a construction project that you never see, yet it is a critical component of the design & stability of the project. Think about that the next time you fuel up your car or truck. #construction #generalcontracting #commercialconstruction #conveniencestores

So many things can go wrong on a new construction project. We look for more than double the return on a new build than an existing, income-producing asset. And that probably still isn't enough for all the risks inherent in #newconstruction. The Extra Space Storage we own at 1250 Taylor St NW in DC has two levels of finished space below-grade. The week we excavated, a torrential rainstorm flooded the area and the site became "Lake Taylor." Fortunately, we installed extensive de-watering measures and robust waterproofing. Several years later, we haven't had any more water issues. #selfstorage #constructionindustry #realestatedevelopment

December 7, 2023: National Illinois Day! This day recognizes the 21st state to join the U.S. Some interesting facts about The Land of Lincoln include: ·      The Home Insurance Building built in Chicago in 1885 was the world’s first modern skyscraper. The building was 10 stories and 138’ tall. Two additional stories were added in 1891, bringing the height to 180’. ·       The Chicago River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows backward. Originally, the river flowed north into Lake Michigan, but on January 1, 1900, engineers reversed the river so that it would flow into the Mississippi River instead. Lake Michigan provided drinking water to Chicago, so the reversal drastically decreased cholera and typhoid outbreaks. ·       Chicago’s nickname “The Windy City” has nothing to do with the weather. The phrase “The Windy City” actually came from an article describing long-winded politicians during an 1893 exhibition. The Illinois Tollway Interchange located in Chicago, Illinois, between the North-South (I-355) and East-West (I-88) Tollway demonstrated that segmental concrete structures could be applied to complicated curved geometry alignments. This project included four flyover ramp structures and a grade separation carrying Finley Road over the North-South (I-355) mainline. The combined length of the project was 5,434'. This project was the first use of segmental concrete construction techniques by a toll authority in a complicated interchange project. FIGG designed this project for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. #civilengineering #concrete #bridge #illinois