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Rolla University Drive Realignment

Page 10 – LASN October Digital Magazine

 

The realignment of University Drive was a key project under the Move Rolla Transportation Development District, aimed at addressing long-standing traffic congestion concerns in Rolla, Missouri.  With transportation consistently rated as a top priority for city residents, this project was critical in improving mobility and safety.  The new design also connects major activity hubs like Phelps Health and Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T), while enhancing the economic potential of the area.

The project was more than just a functional improvement.  It aimed to establish a sense of place and provide aesthetic enhancements, making Rolla’s primary transportation routes not only more efficient but also more attractive and inviting.

Bomanite Sandscape® Brings Texture and Durability

At the heart of the project’s aesthetic appeal was the construction of a large roundabout featuring 15,000 square feet of decorative median islands. Musselman & Hall installed the decorative concrete elements using Bomanite’s Sandscape® Exposed Aggregate System. This system, known for its durability and distinctive texture, was paired with Bomanite Brownstone Integral Color and Bomanite Color Hardener in Rattan to create a warm, natural look that complements the surrounding environment.

Intricate Hexagon Pattern Highlights Design Precision

One of the most unique features of this project was the intricate hexagonal pattern designed for the roundabout. Musselman & Hall placed integrally colored concrete and broadcast the color hardener, creating a custom 15-inch hexagon template that was used to sandblast the surface. This complex two-tone design, illustrated by the design team, emphasized the pattern and added depth and texture to the median islands.

The sandblasting process alone took two weeks to complete, requiring extreme attention to detail.  Aligning the linear hexagonal pattern around the oblong shape of the roundabout presented a significant challenge, as any misalignment would have been immediately noticeable.  However, Musselman & Hall’s meticulous workmanship ensured a seamless transition, showcasing their skill and precision.

An Award-Winning Decorative Concrete Installation

The Rolla University Drive Realignment project not only met its functional goals of easing traffic congestion and enhancing transportation routes but also delivered stunning decorative concrete features that the community can take pride in.  Musselman & Hall’s hard work was recognized with the 2022 Gold Award for Best Bomanite Specialty Project, a testament to their craftsmanship and dedication.

This project exemplifies how thoughtful design, paired with innovative materials like Bomanite’s Sandscape® Texture, can transform a transportation project into a community landmark.  The new roundabout not only improves safety and mobility but also offers an aesthetic experience that Rolla residents can enjoy for years to come.

Monarch Casino Resort Spa

Preparing for the winters is a must in Black Hawk Colorado. In wanting to make a safe transition area from the outdoor environment to the indoors is what Monarch Casino Resort & Spa was thinking when it came time for their renovation. After 5 years of construction, the Monarch Casino, opened to the public in November 2020. With the build out managed by PCL Construction, the casino doubled its size to provide expanded amenities to their customers including new luxury hotel space, new restaurants and a world class spa and pool facility. To help welcome their guests, the casino also built a new parking garage with an attached high-end Porte Cochere.

First impressions are everything

What better way to welcome people to the luxury casino than to provide a luxury drop off area. Bomanite Licensee, Colorado Hardscapes was contacted in mid-2018 by PCL Construction to install over 14,000 sq. ft. of decorative concrete in the new Porte Cochere area. Designed by MBA Architecture (One Studio D+A) Bomanite stamped and stained concrete systems were a part of the specification from day one. Working closely with the project’s designer, including providing multiple rounds of concrete sampling and a visit to Colorado Hardscapes’ design center, the architect honed in on two different coordinating colors for the Bomanite Imprinted Concrete System and two colors chosen for an added textural finish of Bomanite Exposed Aggregate System Sandscape Texture. The mix of colors and textures provided specific visual paths to keep cars in specific lanes and to designate curbs and pedestrian friendly areas.

The selected colors and texture of the Bomacron English Sidewalk Slate were picked to enhance the stone veneer and copper covered columns in the area. V cut joints were used throughout all the concrete for the control and decorative joints. A radiant heat system in the concrete keeps the entire area warm and free of snow during the winter months. The Bomanite Sandscape Texture Exposed Aggregate System adds an additional slip resistant benefit.

Every project has its challenges

In this case, the challenge was the snowmelt system. Coordination with the other sub-contractors, specifically the snowmelt subcontractor was a full-time job for the Colorado Hardscapes team. Claiming workspace for decent size daily pours while maintaining slopes and jointing layout took a lot of preplanning and quality control. Pouring 4 different concrete types through the radiant heat system was a forming challenge. In the end with their expertise and craftsmanship Colorado Hardscapes was able to provide a consistent looking concrete installation across the entire area.

Hardscape Satisfaction

After a year of fulfilling the punch list requirements, Colorado Hardscapes was very proud of the final outcome of the Bomanite Decorative Concrete products they installed for the Monarch Casino. The Bomanite Company awarded Colorado Hardscapes the 2020 Best Bomanite Imprint Systems Project Silver Award for creating a comfortable environment for customers with timeless architecture that provides highly detailed precise decorative concrete work for the Monarch Casino Resort & Spa.

Valley Children’s Hospital

Valley Children’s Healthcare began as the vision of five civic-minded women who saw the need for a dedicated pediatric hospital in Central California. For nearly 70 years, Valley Children’s Healthcare has grown from a 42-bed hospital in 1952 to a 358-bed, nationally respected pediatric healthcare network today with more than 640 physicians and 3,500 staff. Valley Children’s delivers high-quality, comprehensive care to more than 1.3 million children in a 12-county service area and has been recognized four years in a row by U.S. News and World Report as one of the “Best Children’s Hospitals” in the nation for various specialties. Valley Children’s is the first children’s hospital west of the Rockies to receive Magnet Nursing designation, the highest nursing benchmark in the world.

As the Valley Children’s Healthcare network continues to grow and expand they recently implemented their landscaping Master Plan Phase 2 at the Valley Children’s Hospital location in Madera, California to accommodate gatherings, family events and fund raising efforts. Taking advantage of the beautiful California weather for more outdoor events, their south side building landscaping needed improvements for vehicle access for caterers, food trucks as well as emergency, freight and maintenance vehicles.

Working with Heritage Bomanite, the California Central Valley Bomanite Decorative Concrete Contractor, a design was put in place to accommodate the vehicle and pedestrian traffic. Dedicated to providing a top-notch installation for a top-rated children’s hospital was a common goal of all trades during the installation. With a strong presence in the Central Valley, the values of Valley Children’s call for a set of shared standards driven by excellence, compassion, heart, care for all, and integrity.

The Bomanite Exposed Aggregate System exterior concrete hardscape stands up to the test of time with a history in strength, durability and adds multiple design aesthetics to collaborate with plantings, shrubs and structures. Bomanite Sandscape Texture and Bomanite Revealed were chosen based on a previous specification in place for Valley Children’s smaller satellite hospitals north and south of the central valley location that were also installed by Heritage Bomanite. With its proven performance and keeping within the color theme, 21,082 Square feet of Seal Gray Bomanite Sandscape Texture and 5,899 Square feet of Bomanite Revealed with Light and Dark Blue Glass, Black Granite Aggregate and Bomanite Seal Gray Integral Color were incorporated into a new sidewalk/accessible driveway and patio entrance along with 5,555 square feet of decorative sawcuts delivering necessary control joints with designer appeal.

Heritage Bomanite installed the Pergola Amphitheater with stadium seating that will host many concerts for the children and their families. Over 13,000 square feet of natural gray broom finished concrete can be found in exterior walkways surrounding the amphitheater and the low-maintenance freshly landscaped planter and flower beds by Landscape Development Inc. Working with an event deadline, the newly finished landscape created a perfect background for the 23rd Annual Harvest Ball, a Signature Event of Valley Children’s. This elegant gala has grown to host more than 900 of the community’s most generous philanthropists each year and celebrates the life-saving mission of Valley Children’s.

Used in combination with a variety of color and staining options, Bomanite Sandscape Texture creates consistent texture and durable hardscapes. Natural stone such as granite, quartz or marble along with unique aggregates such as recycled glass or porcelain are common aggregates of choice for Bomanite Revealed installations. The natural non-skid properties and abrasion resistant aggregates make both Bomanite Revealed and Bomanite Sandscape Texture the perfect choice for entries, municipal or public works projects, hospitals, educational facilities, museums, pool decks, plazas and more. The Bomanite Decorative Concrete Exposed Aggregate Systems offer a variety of modernized mixes and an unlimited palette of colors, textures and aggregate options to choose from, providing cost-effective solutions that are more durable than ever and reveal just how brilliant concrete can be while delivering that little bit of sparkle to any festivity.

Jose Campos, Field Engineer for Quiring General, the GC for this project had this to say about Heritage Bomanite’s workmanship “On behalf of Quiring General, we would like to thank Heritage Bomanite for their outstanding contribution to the Valley Children’s Healthcare Landscape Master Plan Phase II project in Madera, CA. We appreciate your team’s persistence, commitment, and focus to help deliver a high-quality project on schedule and within the client’s budget.”

Heritage Bomanite exemplified Valley Children’s values of excellence and integrity earning them the Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Project Over 6,000 Sq. ft Silver Award. With their outstanding workmanship they have been asked to continue with Phase III of the Valley Children’s Healthcare Landscape Master Plan, providing additional beautiful Bomanite Decorative Concrete.

Woodbury Community Development

Woodbury is a neighborhood of Irvine, California, located from Irvine Boulevard to Trabuco Road, between Jeffrey Road and Sand Canyon Avenue.  Several recreational facilities have been developed within the community. The Woodbury Community Park, a public access park contains two baseball diamonds, two basketball courts, a soccer field, a community center building, and a 3,000 sq ft Tot-Lot, which is part of The Commons.

The Commons, in the heart of Woodbury, is a 30 Acre social gathering spot, with an elementary school, and a 9-acre private recreational facility, with four tennis courts, a basketball court, a beach volleyball court, three swimming pools, a water garden, and a great lawn.

The Woodbury Community Development was in need of access points for emergency vehicles. Without compromising the landscape design, the Grasscrete Concealed System was chosen for its aesthetics and durability. Grasscrete was installed along the Jeffrey Trail and adjacent to the trail to allow emergency vehicle access to the rear of residences for a quicker response time.

The Fully Concealed Grasscrete System, part of the Bomanite Pervious Concrete Systems was also employed as medians to provide wider turnaround areas for fire trucks and maintenance vehicles. Additional areas installed around The Commons clubhouse and volleyball court allow greater accessibility in case of an emergency.

By forming a concrete lattice of solid and void, Grasscrete combines the strength and rigidity of a single, structural framework while still providing enough access to soil, water, and sunlight to support sustained vegetation. The result is a vegetated permeable surface that remains drivable when needed, capable of supporting the parked weight of a fully loaded fire truck. Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping while accommodating a variety of needs for the Woodbury Community Development.

Von Karman Office Complex

The office complexes at 16845 Von Karman Ave, Irvine California received an emergency vehicle access area that uses the Bomanite Grasscrete System. Bomanite Licensed contractor, T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc. worked with Wolcott Architecture to select the sustainable pervious concrete system that would work best with the intended use.

The Partially Concealed Grasscrete System is engineered to provide long-term durability, low maintenance and structural strength. Access around or to buildings for fire trucks or other emergency vehicles are typically concealed with grass and defined with curbs, bollards or landscaping to complement the design of the structures and walkways.

The combination of concrete, steel and aggregate interlock ensures that Grasscrete can bear isolated loads; such as downriggers placed in an emergency situation with no support blocks. The robustness of the system minimizes the potential for failure during critical use.

Grasscrete, pervious concrete, constructed with one time use formers is time proven. Because of its structural integrity and continuous reinforcing, Grasscrete is not subject to the differential settlement that can occur with precast blocks and thin plastic products. The sustainable Grasscrete Molded Pulp Former System, used for the office complex project, has been engineered and field proven to bear the continuous weight of up to 114,000 pound vehicles along with such customized applications as military tank use or light speed rail track access– even when the sub-base becomes saturated making this ideal for this Emergency Access area.

Marriott Courtyard Hotel

The Marriott Courtyard Asheville Airport Hotels entryway and guests terrace received a much needed beautiful makeover.  Bomanite Licensee, Carolina Bomanite, was called in by the general contractor, Pro Construction, on advice from the owner. The owner, Touchstone Hospitality, was having a workmanship issue with the first pour of stamped concrete by a local contractor. Lack of skilled labor, lack of multiple tools led to a very poorly poured terrace off the meeting area. The client had used Carolina Bomanite before on a Hampton Inn Hotel project and was familiar with the workmanship and asked if they could remedy the issues.

Carolina Bomanite was able to review the project and recommend corrections that were in need for standard regulation pours and stamped concrete work. All of the curb and gutter at the porte-cochere was 11” to low and the area leading to the front door exceeded 5% slope. In addition, a small smoking patio sidewalk had to be reworked with a twist in order to get enough length to keep the slope under 3%. All of these items were noticed by the Carolina Bomanite team. Carolina Bomanite first took control of the grades, and then made some adjustments to the pattern and the project turned out great. The Bomacron English Sidewalk Slate Pattern and Bomacron Slate Texture were used for the porte-cochere area with Bomanite Caramel Color Hardener and Bomanite Forest Brown Release colors. For the circular terrace area, the Bomacron Running Bond Used Brick pattern was installed with a Bomanite Brick Red Color Hardener.

Touchstone Hospitality was very pleased with the work done. Guests are now welcomed with a properly installed, safe, stylish stamped concrete entrance and inviting relaxing stamped concrete terrace.

Hamilton Pool Park Service Road

PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS/INFORMATION

Description:

Bomanite Grasscrete Systems provide a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable, “Green” product design. As a cast-in-place, monolithic, pervious concrete pavement that is continuously reinforced to provide superior structural integrity, Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access to a variety of applications without compromising surrounding aesthetics or environment.

Bomanite Licensed Contractor, Bomanite of Austin, installed Grasscrete for a much needed upgraded emergency vehicle access lane for Travis County’s Hamilton Park. Hamilton Park receives 75,000 visitors a year and the service road needs to be accessible during all times of the year. The Hamilton Pool Preserve is a historic swimming hole which was designated a preserve by the Travis County Commissioner’s Court in 1990. Located 3/4 mile upstream from its confluence with the Pedernales River, Hamilton Creek spills out over limestone outcroppings to create a 50 foot waterfall as it plunges into the head of a steep box canyon. The waterfall never completely dries up, but in dry times it does slow to a trickle. However, the pool’s water level stays pretty constant, even during periods of drought. Due to the nature of the the pool trail, it’s 1/4 mile in length and includes a series of rock steps descending into the canyon, there are times when immediate access is needed.

Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping. Grasscrete is a very sustainable product that can employ a large recycled material content both in the form of aggregate and binder such as fly ash or slag—its lifespan is indefinite and can be recycled itself to form the aggregates for future Grasscrete applications; providing Specifiers with a truly sustainable, eco-friendly system to accommodate a variety of needs.

Bomanite of Austin offers a variety of decorative concrete products and systems, and is dedicated to the highest standards of quality and service. Offering everything from imprinted concrete, exposed aggregate and sustainable Grasscrete Systems, Bomanite of Austin has the architectural concrete solution for you. For more information on this project or other questions, contact Bomanite of Austin at 512-491-0202 .

Colorado College

Colorado College located in Colorado Springs wanted to maintain the grassed areas adjacent to large trees while providing access to a fire hydrant set back from the roadway. Grasscrete was chosen and installed by certified Bomanite Contractor, Premier Concrete Services. Grasscrete Molded Pulp Formers were utilized for this project providing sustainability with their 100% recycled content and ability to degrade over time into the sub-soils. The combination of concrete, steel and aggregate interlock ensures that Grasscrete can bear isolated loads such as downriggers placed in an emergency situation with no support blocks, The robustness of the system minimizes the potential for failure during critical use.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

The Design-Build team for the memorial to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. consisted of McKissack and McKissack, Turner Construction, Tompkins Builders and Gilford Corporation known as (MTTG). The site is adjacent to the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the Tidal Basin and in a direct line between the Lincoln Memorial, where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Jefferson Memorial, symbol of liberty and democracy.

The memorial honors Dr. King’s contributions to world peace through non-violent social change. Natural elements such as water, stone, and trees underscore the themes of justice, democracy, and hope. Quotes from Dr. King’s sermons and speeches capture the essence of his message in the commanding tenants of the American Dream – Freedom, Democracy, and Opportunity for All. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, features a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.

Grasscrete was installed and is used for access to the back of the auxiliary building which houses the Martin Luther King Jr. bookstore, restrooms and a ranger station. The area is approx 2,000 square feet with the voids being planted with grass. The Grasscrete pour used a Buff Integral Color to provide a cohesiveness to the surroundings. The Grasscrete installation minimizes the non-pervious surfaces and includes a letdown between the sidewalk and street to allow daily access for the Park Ranger and maintenance vehicles.