- Company: Geneva Rock Products, Inc
- Industry: Transportation
- Location: Orem, Utah
Little Sahara Access Road was a project in which Geneva Rock Products acted as a mentor to DSB Construction. The project consisted of pulverizing, re-grading and paving 4.5 miles of two lane highway and adding a 105 feet long, 10 foot diameter pipe culvert to replace an existing failing culvert. This project served as the rehabilitation of a failed road which is the sole access to one of Utah’s great sand dune destinations. The road rebuild will help tourists access the recreation area safely and comfortably.
What impact does this project have on America?
This project impacted anyone that owns a four wheeler, motorcycle or any other recreational vehicle. The outdoor enthusiasts that visit this park every weekend throughout the summer care about the ride in and the ride out. Having a new smooth road will benefit the public to protect their expensive toys from getting damaged.
What interesting obstacles or unusual circumstances did you overcome to complete the project?
The industry should be aware of this project because we were asked to pave a three inch thick asphalt in two separate 1.5 inch lifts. The challenge here is that the nominal maximum aggregate size (NMAS) was 3/4″ which goes against any asphalt paving specification that I’ve ever seen. Most specifications ask that the lift thickness be at least three times the NMAS to account for compaction. The specification also called for a pneumatic roller that aids in kneading the material which should help with compaction. This was not the case and the problem was mitigated by removing the pneumatic roller and performing compaction rolling with a lightweight single drum vibratory roller.
What dangers and risks did you encounter, and describe any extraordinary methods used to keep workers safe?
Installing a 105 feet long ten foot diameter pipe culvert in a 20 feet deep trench was a danger to say the least. The pipe was assembled outside the trench on flat ground to ensure safe working environment for the crews. After it was assembled, it was then picked by a 330 track excavator and lowered into its rightful position. The pipe was placed in two sections to increase the factor of safety that which the excavator place the pipe.
How did you leverage new technologies to work faster and reduce waste?
The grader on the job was “lit up” with GPS the entire time it was there. Our survey crews were able to build a three dimensional model and import that into the grader. This allowed us to increase production with the use of technology.
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