GOMACO World Index --- GOMACO World 29.2 - June 2001

 

GOMACO's Vibration System Handles New York's Specs

 

C-450

The Millersport Highway Project in Buffalo, New York, required the complete removal and rebuilding of portions of the Millersport Highway and Route 62. Master's Edge, Inc., based out of Buffalo, was hired to complete the concrete paving, curb and gutter and sidewalk portion of the project.

The New York Department of Transportation changed their specifications for cylinder finishers in 2000. The new requirement called for a vibrator to be mounted to the machine for maximum concrete consolidation.

Master's Edge turned to the GOMACO C-450 cylinder finisher with a rotary stinger vibrator attachment to comply with the new spec. The company didn't waste any time testing their new machine on a project.

"The entire roadway was six lanes wide," Giuseppe Surdi, president of Master's Edge, explained. "We had our C-450 set 50 feet (15.24 m) wide and we could pave three lanes of the road in each pass."

Work was carried out right next to live traffic. While three lanes of roadway were being built, the remaining lanes were open to traffic.

"The traffic didn't bother us. We just had to plan around the heaviest of it for our concrete supply," Surdi explained.

Concrete was delivered to the site in standard ready-mix trucks and was dumped directly onto an asphalt subbase. Dowel baskets were placed every 12 feet (3.66 m) for the nine inch (229 mm) thick pavement.

"Production is incredible with this machine," Surdi added. "We can pour 1000 yd3 (765 m3) of concrete in 10 hours of work. We get that kind of production and the finish the machine produces is magnificent."

Their machine is equipped with a double-drum undercarriage which is part of the C-450's three-point finishing system. The auger levels the concrete, the drums consolidate and finish the concrete and the float pan seals and textures the surface and produces the quality finish.

A rake and tine finish and a spray cure is applied to the slab behind the machine.

"We were the first contractor in Buffalo to get a C-450 with the vibrator attachment and double drums," Surdi said. "We compete with two other companies here and they both had to come over and check out our new machine.

"We're very pleased with the machine and the way it works," Surdi added.

Curb and gutter was added onto the slab with the company's other new machine, a GT-3600.

"That machine is amazing," Surdi said. "You can move the mold and the machine any way you want to get the job done. You can drop the mold down 15 to 18 inches (381 to 457 mm) in a ditch if you need to."

The standard curb and gutter was slipformed with a Class-J concrete mix design. Slump averaged 1.5 inches (38 mm). A broom finish was applied to the curb and gutter, and joints were placed every 10 feet (3.05 m). Production averaged 1200 to 1400 feet (366 to 427 m) per day during an eight hour shift.

"The GT-3600 does nice work," Surdi added. "It's a very beautiful, beautiful machine to work with."

 

 

GT-3600

C-450

 

 

 

 

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