In May 2021, the CWM family welcomed our newly acquired MCI employees. Through this acquisition we added employees, equipment, and concrete paving projects. Fast forward to this May and our concrete paving and plant divisions are actively completing the last segment of the new I-840 Loop in Greensboro, North Carolina. When finished, Greensboro commuters will get the full benefit of the I-840 loop encircling Greensboro, like I-285 around Atlanta.
This is the largest concrete paving project ever attempted by CWM crews. In total the project consists of the fabrication and placement of 337,000 SY of 13” concrete paving, which converts to a volume of approximately 125,000 CY. Our portable concrete batch plant is setup onsite and will produce the concrete required to complete the project. Having the ability to produce our own concrete is a byproduct of the MCI acquisition and it allows CWM to be highly competitive, productive, and self-sufficient on large concrete paving projects.
On a typical day, the plant crew accepts raw material deliveries, produces concrete, and transports it to the paving train in dump trucks. The paving crew places and finishes the concrete using a slip-form placer, paver, and texture/cure machine. Ahead of the concrete paving train is a setup crew that installs geofabric, dowel baskets and the string line used to guide the paving train. Everyone’s efforts culminate into an average daily placement of 1,000 to 1,500 CY of concrete. So far, our best day has been 2,050 CY, however, we will strive to surpass our daily best in the next phase.
The project will continue throughout this year with an anticipated completion date of December 2022. Many thanks to all the employees who are already making this project a success and solidifying CWM’s reputation as a reliable and respected concrete paving contractor in the Southeast.