GOMACO World Index --- GOMACO World 37.2 - September 2009

 

A BIG Project on a Small Island

 

Commander III

Goodfellow Bros. chose the Commander III to slipform a new two mile (3.2 km) long, four-lane road in the city of Honolulu on the Oahu island of Hawaii.

A new two mile (3.2 km) long, four lane road is being built in the city of Honolulu on Hawaii’s Oahu island. New roadway construction of this size for the island state is very uncommon. Most road projects are replacement or widenings, simply because there is no room to build new.

Goodfellow Bros., Inc., based out of Wenatchee, Washington, with an office in Kihei, Hawaii, won the bid to build the project. They had no previous slipform experience and no slipforming equipment. When they started the process of looking for a concrete paver, they knew they wanted a machine that was versatile, large enough to pave roadway, but also small enough to work in Hawaii’s confined job-site areas. Ultimately, they chose the GOMACO four-track Commander III.

“We went with the Commander III because it will be more versatile on future projects,” Matt Heahlke, Project Manager for Goodfellow, said. “We can use it for highway slipforming, barrier walls, curb and gutter... We won’t have a large quantity job like this again. The projects will be smaller, more chopped up, and the Commander III is much more versatile for that.”

Their new Commander III is currently slipforming on the new North/South Road, phase 1B, which includes approximately 2300 cubic yards (1758 m3) of 10 inch (254 mm) thick concrete pavement. Work on the project began in January 2008 and it is scheduled for completion in January 2010.

When Goodfellow was purchasing equipment for their new concrete paving venture, they also added an RTP-500 rubber-tracked placer and a T/C-600 texture/cure machine. The RTP-500 was purchased as a concrete placer, but the company has also been utilizing its long reaching capabilities to back-fill their Keystone® retaining and structural walls projects. It placed concrete for the first time on the brand new road.

“This is virgin construction through old sugar cane fields,” Heahlke explained. “The road is the new corridor servicing the future University of Hawaii West Campus and also the Department of Hawaiian Homelands Housing Development. It’s extremely rare to have brand new road construction, because it’s such a limited area to begin with.”

Goodfellow is using the RTP-500 to place concrete onto the untreated permeable base. Dowel baskets are placed every 12.5 feet (3.8 m) for the transverse joint. The concrete is a 650 flex mix design and provided by local producer, Island Ready-Mix. Dump trucks carry 10 cubic yard (7.6 m3) loads of concrete and dump into the RTP’s hopper. Concrete slump averages two inches (51 mm).

 

 

RTP-500 and Commander III

An RTP-500 rubber-tracked placer works from the haul road placing concrete on the grade and over preset dowel baskets.

 

Commander III

The GOMACO four-track Commander III is the perfect-sized paver for Hawaii’s limited project area. It also offers the extra versatility that Goodfellow Bros. was looking for in a slipform paver.

 

 

 

The Commander III is set up to slipform each lane at 12 feet (3.7 m) wide, 10 inches (254 mm) thick. Production on the longer stretches of pavement averages around 120 cubic yards (91.7 m3) per hour during an eight-hour paving shift.

All of their paving is being done at night. It allows Goodfellow complete control of the batch plant to ensure they get the volume of concrete necessary to feed the paving operation. It also creates cooler working conditions for the crew, while eliminating the worry of the concrete curing too fast and cracking because of extreme temperatures.

The Commander III is also being used to slipform the 8.5 feet (2.6 m) wide concrete shoulders.

 

 

Commander III

The Commander III paves each of the four lanes of the new roadway 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 10 inches (254 mm) thick.

 

Commander III

Production averages 120 cubic yards (91.7 m3) per hour during the longer paving runs.

 

 

 

A T/C-600 texture/cure machine, set at 16 feet (4.9 m) wide between its two tracks, follows behind the Commander III. It applies the state of Hawaii required AstroTurf drag, transverse tining, and SINAK® lithium spray cure.

The state also has smoothness requirements. Hawaii utilizes the California profilograph and two-tenths blanking band to measure their project’s smoothness. A reading of a 10 or less ensures 100 percent pay on the project. Goodfellow has had no problems achieving good rideability.

“Overall, our rideability is very smooth,” Heahlke said. “This is Goodfellow’s first concrete slipform paving job and we’re very impressed with the GOMACO equipment. We’re definitely in the concrete paving business for good. We can’t wait to get more projects.”

 

 

T/C-600

A T/C-600 texture/cure machine, set at 16 feet (4.9 m) wide between the tracks, follows the paver pulling an AstroTurf drag, and applies a spray cure and a transverse tine.

 

 

 

 

 

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