Project Summary |
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Community Center Drive |
Printable Document (.pdf)
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AB Ashlar Blend moves in BIG! Basalite Concrete Products, out of Denver Colorado, has completed the largest square
foot Allan Block Ashlar project to date. The eight-wall project is located north of Denver along Interstate - 25,
a major thoroughfare in the Denver metro area. The 16,000 ft2 (1,485 m2). of retaining wall makes this project a giant AB Ashlar
Blend billboard. This project of bridge abutments and terraces is not only the largest AB Ashlar Blend project thus far
it's also the first Ashlar pattern that uses a three-degree wall batter.
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| PROJECT NAME & LOCATION
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Community Center Drive
North Glenn, Colorado
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PRODUCT
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AB Ashlar Blend
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PROJECT SIZE
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16,000 ft2 (1,485 m2)
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LOCAL ENGINEER
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Suzanne Wohlgemuth
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GENERAL CONTRACTOR
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HBG Flatirons, Inc. & Slaton Brothers, Inc.
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WALL BUILDER
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Slaton Brothers, Inc.
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ALLAN BLOCK MANUFACTURER
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Basalite
Denver, CO
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Plan |
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The Community Center Drive project began with one goal; using the Allan Block Ashlar Blend pattern.
However, the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) specifications required the retaining walls
installed to have a near vertical batter. In order to install the Ashlar wall and still conform to CDOT's
specifications, Basalite needed to reconfigure their block molds from a six-degree system to a three-degree
system for this project. HBG Flatirons, Inc., the general contractors for this eight-wall project were able to
bring in Slaton Brothers Inc, the largest DOT retaining wall installers in Colorado, to construct the walls.
With these two experienced contractors on the job, the project was sure to be a success.
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Design |
With three walls being used for bridge abutments to support Community Center Drive at its
overpass of Interstate 25 and the remaining walls being terraced to run along the side the roadway,
this project had a lot of design challenges. The main design challenge faced was finding a way to
incorporate the Ashlar Blend while still meeting the CDOT specifications. According to the specifications,
the allowable Long Term Design Strength (LTDS) required was 15.7% of the ultimate tensile strength of the
grid reinforcement. Under the requirements, the allowable LTDS for Miragrid 5XT dropped significantly from
the manufacturers value of 1733 lb/ft (25kN/m) to 675 lb/ft 9.8 kN/m).
This decrease in strength forced the wall design to incorporate longer grid lengths, closer grid spacing,
and the addition of stronger grid types, including Miragrid 7XT, 8XT and 10XT. Once these design challenges
were met, building these walls began.
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Build |
Building the walls also brought on challenges. Since the walls were required to have a near vertical batter,
the molds had to be altered so that a three-degree block could be made. Altering a block mold and manufacturing
new blocks takes up valuable time. To save some time and get the project started, Slaton Brothers began the job
by altering the existing stock of six-degree block to the required three degree by hand. While very labor intensive,
Slaton Brothers were able to get a jump-start on the project while their three-degree blocks were being manufactured.
Once the newly manufactured blocks were ready, the project rolled into high gear. Although this project faced many
designing and building challenges, the experience of the contractors and the versatility of Allan Block made it a
complete success.
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