Always ready to take on even the most difficult projects, Michigan Construction partner Consumers Concrete is supplying a very unique one in Grand Haven, Michigan. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with Vazquez Commercial Contracting and The King Company, of Holland, contracted with Consumers Concrete to provide concrete for the rehabilitation of Grand Haven’s south pier. The south pier runs parallel to the north pier, creating the Grand Haven Channel and providing protection to boats and shipping vessels at the mouth of the Grand River where it flows into Lake Michigan.
The project requires the loading of Consumers Concrete trucks on a barge, as many as five at a time, along with a crane. The barge is then floated down the Grand Haven Channel to the jobsite. As it progresses, the looks on the faces of people walking along the channel are priceless as they realize they are seeing floating concrete trucks! The concrete is placed on the pier via bucket loaded on the barge and swung into place by the crane.
The concrete mix is demanding because the slow and extended travel time on the barges dictates that the mix be retarded longer than usual. Once placed, however, it is important for the concrete to set up normally because of the conditions on the pier and Lake Michigan, and the concrete mix typically hit the designed strength of 4,500 P.S.I. in only seven days!
Check out this video of the loading, transport and placing of the concrete at the pier.
The project will continue through the fall of 2017 and begin again in 2018.
How often do you see a ready-mix driver getting a life jacket?
Looks like they are heading out to sea!
Bucket o’ concrete!
Close to the edge.
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