Nearly 2400 blocks of EPS are currently being inventoried at Versa-Tech, Inc.

6 blocks per trip are transported to the inventory staging area.Blocks being placed in VTI's inventory lot.

 

Alternate view of inventoried blocks.

Inventoried Blocks for Tucker Tunnel Geofoam Fill

Versa-Tech, Inc. awarded bid for material supply for large Geotechnical fill of Tucker Tunnel in St. Louis, MO.

Located within the heart of downtown St. Louis is Tucker Blvd.  Beneath the boulevard, unknown to most that travel this roadway, lays a massive tunnel.  The tunnel was constructed in 1931 by the Illinois Terminal Railroad.  The original purpose was to alleviate traffic congestion between automobiles, streetcars and the commercial transportation of goods and materials.  Over time the tunnel was used less and less for transportation and eventually became a passageway for utility transmissions like sewer/water, electric and so forth.  It just so happens that the tunnel originates at the Post-Dispatch. 

 Time has taken its toll on the tunnel.  The walls that support the tunnel have become unstable and threaten the stability of the tunnel, the roadway above and those multi-story buildings lining its street level route.  The engineering solution was to fill the tunnel.  Commonly referred to as geotechnical fill, this sort of ground stabilization is typically achieved with dirt, rock and/or lightweight concrete.  Detailed calculations revealed that filling the tunnel with these sorts of heavy fill materials, (usually 125-200lbs/cft) would create lateral pressure sufficient enough to push the original tunnel walls outward and actually accelerate its collapse.  The solution was to find a material strong enough to support a roadway and yet light enough so as not to create outward pressure on the walls.  Enter Expanded Polystyrene or EPS blocks.  Engineers decided to use 1.5lb to 2.0lb/cft EPS blocks to fill the tunnel.  The first phase of this project is underway and this stage is slated to use over 3300 blocks measuring 38” x 50.75” x 192”.  This translates to over 675,000cft of foam! 

Versa-Tech was fortunate enough to win the bid for material supply.  This project attracted competition from every major manufacturer of EPS within the US.  We are extremely proud that our small company has been viewed as the best choice nation wide for this project.  Our campus is now home to an outside inventory of nearly 2400 blocks and counting.  The storage consumes several acres and can be viewed in the photo’s shown. ]]> http://versatechinc.net/versa-tech-awarded-bid-for-material-supply-for-large-geotechnical-fill-of-tucker-tunnel-in-st-louis-mo/feed/ 0 http://versatechinc.net/versa-tech-inc-receives-sharps-certification-from-osha/ http://versatechinc.net/versa-tech-inc-receives-sharps-certification-from-osha/#comments Wed, 21 Apr 2010 14:58:01 +0000 April http://versatechinc.net/?p=438