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RCC Shows the Port of Houston Another Side
of Concrete
By: Matthew W. Singel, PE*
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| Rubber-tired gantry cranes for off-loading
containers from ships |
The burgeoning sea port market is seeing growth and expansion across
the country and the Port of Houston is no exception. A serious player,
the Port of Houston is currently ranked first in the United States
in handling foreign waterborne tonnage and second in total tonnage.
When the time came to design the phase 1, stage 1 container yard
of their Bayport Terminal Complex, the Port of Houston Authority
(PHA) looked at measures to value-engineer this 60 acre site and
cement offered solutions.
The design included three pavement sections as follows:
Grounded Container Storage:
18” roller-compacted concrete pavement
12” cement treated aggregate base
4” # 57 stone (drainage layer)
- geotextile fabric
8” cement/lime stabilized subgrade
Wheeled Container Storage:
14” roller-compacted concrete pavement
8” cement treated aggregate base
4” # 57 stone (drainage layer)
- geotextile fabric
8” cement/lime stabilized subgrade
Circulation Roads:
18” roller-compacted concrete pavement
8” cement treated aggregate base
4” # 57 stone (drainage layer)
- geotextile fabric
8” cement/lime stabilized subgrade
A significant development was the PHA’s decision to use roller-compacted
concrete pavement as the finished pavement. The use of RCC pavement,
a stiff (low water content), paver-laid concrete mix led the PHA
to believe that they could reduce the project construction schedule
by four months while keeping future maintenance to a minimum. This
ability to open to business earlier while minimizing maintenance
“down-time” was enough to clinch the deal.
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| ARAN Modumix pugmill used to produce roller-compacted
concrete |
The early months of the project were stalled with unusually rainy
winter and spring weather. Despite this uncontrollable set-back,
the project, now in its final months, is ahead of schedule. With
all eyes on the RCC construction, the subcontractor, A.G. Peltz,
LLC, produced approximately 96,500 cubic yards of RCC with an on-site
ARAN Modumix plant. Their production rates routinely exceeded 400
cubic yards/hour with daily production often exceeding 3,000 cubic
yards/shift. They paved with two ABG Titan 525 pavers used in tandem
at a paving width of 30 feet in two equal lifts. This dual-lift
paving operation yielded the 3,500 psi unconfined compressive strengths
required by the specification. Peltz, headquartered in Birmingham,
Ala., has a long history as an RCC paving contractor with credit
for site paving at several auto manufacturing plants including the
Honda plant in Lincoln, Ala., currently the largest RCC pavement
site in use.
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| Compaction of the second lift of roller-compacted
concrete |
The general contractor, McCarthy Building Company, Inc., with an
office in Houston, served as the general contractor and was directly
involved in all facets of this project. Their construction expertise
and project supervision was a significant factor in the success
of this project. Jim McQueen, PHA Construction Management Supervisor,
said, “I have been very pleased with the excellent job performed
by the McCarthy, Peltz team and the professional nature in which
they both operate.”
Jim McQueen is open about the success of this project. Prior to
working with the PHA, Jim worked for 20 years with the US Army Corps
of Engineers and five years with the US State Department after which
he retired. When asked for his thoughts on the success of this project,
McQueen states, “the Port of Houston is hoping that the success
of this project will be a springboard for future RCC projects in
Texas”. The next portion of this work, phase 2, is currently
being planned for the summer/fall of 2008 with additional phases
following until the 1,043 acre complex reaches completion.
*Matthew W. Singel, PE
Program Manager
Soil Cement & Roller Compacted Concrete
Cement Council of Texas
cctmatt@earthlink.net
817-540-4437
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