Bechtel Corporation Uses DuraDeck mats for Angola Project
“As the Prime Contractor for Angola LNG, Bechtel needed early access to the Project site to establish the temporary infrastructure necessary to support initial construction activities, as well as permanent plant construction. A large portion of the Project’s site was reclaimed with marine fill and initial access to the Project site was difficult. Additionally, there were no locally readily available road construction materials for construction of temporary access roads. To expedite the required access to the site, Bechtel elected to utilize the heavy duty DuraDeck matting material for the initial temporary access routes. The photographs included are the first DuraDeck road established for the Project. The DuraDeck material is easily installed and in our case required simple grading of the fill sand to facilitate installation. The temporary access roads constructed for the Project included multiple two lane (24’) sections, some over 2000 feet in length, which provided viable access for the Project’s initial heavy equipment mobilization including cranes, tracked piling rigs, off-road earthmovers, 40’ tractor-trailer rigs, and many other typical heavy construction equipment. The material’s use is recyclable and was reused for numerous applications in the early stages of the Project. I would recommend Duradeck for anyone needing a quick, durable, reusable and multi-use matting material for roadways, lay down areas and other uses.”
- Mark Benge,
Bechtel Field Engineering Manager
A Case Study: DuraDeck
provides ground protection during a bridge dismantle
project The Project
A dilapidated pedestrian
bridge In North East England needed to be dismantled.
The bridge was surrounded on all sides by soft turf,
making access for the necessary heavy lifting equipment
problematic. There were also concerns by the borough
to protect the ground from undue damage during the
dismantling.
A 56-tonne crane and a 30-tonne low loader needed
to be positioned alongside the bridge in order to
remove it. Before this could happen, though, a temporary
platform/roadway strong enough to take the weight
was required.
Ideally, the contractor wanted to avoid removing
the grass and laying a temporary tarmac surface,
as this would have be costly and time consuming.
Instead, the contractor wanted to create a heavy-duty
platform/roadway that could be placed over the grass
to support the weight of the crane, without causing
any lasting damage to the grass.
The Solution
The contractor found
Signature Flooring's DuraDeckTM ground
protection mats. DuraDeck is capable of supporting
vehicles weighing up to 72 tonnes and was used here
to create a temporary surface across 50 metres of
grass next to the bridge.
A separate 20-metre stretch was created to divert
traffic over the grass, allowing work and vehicles
to keep flowing during the job. The DuraDeck mats
proved their environmental benefit - preventing
any damage occurring to the soft ground and leaving
the turf completely undamaged.
While DuraDeck mats can be joined together to form
a more long-term surface, they are also effective
simply laid side-by-side, allowing large areas to
be quickly protected.
Another advantage is that, weighing just 39 kilos
each, the resilient high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
panels can be moved by hand with no need for any
further lifting equipment.
Paul Fleming, foreman at Carillion said: "Using
the DuraDeck ground protection mats saved us a tremendous
amount of time and effort. Without them, we could
never have finished the whole job in just one weekend,
as preparing the site before starting work and reinstating
the field at the end would have been a long-winded
process.
"After the protection had been down for five days
the only sign it had been there was slight discoloration
of the grass – and just two weeks later, this had
completely disappeared.
"Not only did the DuraDeck mats allow us to reduce
costs by working more efficiently, they also minimised
inconvenience to residents of the area."
One of Signature's British distributors, Speedy
Time, who sold the job to the contractor elaborates, "The key benefit of DuraDeck to contractors
is the reduction it offers in job times as well
as set-up and clean-up costs."
"An added environmental benefit is that the
long-lasting HDPE panels are manufactured using
more than 90 per cent recycled materials."
"The
dilemma in the construction industry has always been
having a product that can be re-usable for protecting
floor and ground surfaces that is economical and the
least labor intensive to use. It was a great resource
to find Signature Fencing and Flooring Systems, LLC
and their product - DuraDeck - for protecting the clay
tennis court surface for a restoration job we are performing
on an indoor court arena.
Having
a one source contractor, as Signature Fencing and
Flooring Systems, LLC., to provide and install the
rental of the DuraDeck protection mats for the court
arena restoration job has been a valuable asset in
the success of the Tennis Court project. The
DuraDeck mats have provided an excellent protective
work surface for all of the heavy scaffolding and
construction traffic that was used during the execution
of the work. In matter of fact, DuraDeck mats have
proven to be so successful, other subcontractors involved
in the project have inquired for rental or purchase
of the "DuraDeck System" for their future needs.
Signature
Fencing and Flooring Systems, LLC. provided the one-stop
solution for an agonizing and labor intensive problem
that has plagued our company in the past. I would
recommend highly using Signature Fencing and Flooring
Systems, LLC for any fence or flooring protection
needs to anyone needing use of their products."
Mark Davenport Vice President of Operations MariMar,
Inc. Peshtigo, Wisconsin
"I love working with DuraDeck mats! The double traction design keeps even my biggest tree spade moving over soft ground. I keep my customers happy by keeping their expensive lawns in good condition. There's no rutting or vehicle damage, even with tremendous weights. I would recommend DuraDeck over anything else I have seen or worked with"
Scott Chronis, Scott Chronis Landscaping and Design - Southampton, NY
