| Airport Project Alert |
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Astec Universal Plant goes to an airport project.In March 2011, Astec, Inc. of Chattanooga, TN shipped a new Universal concrete plant to the APAC Tennessee site on President's Island in Memphis. The President's island site was central between two APAC projects: a Memphis Airport runway project and an upcoming TDOT ramp re-construction job. Site preparation began and within hours the Astec concrete plant, without the use of cranes, was erected and ready to calibrate. After calibration for Phase One of the runway project, and test samples, the first 206 truckloads of cement treated base (CTB) were produced and placed on the runway grade, all within density requirements, and with strength greater than the contract specs; accurate and "in-spec" from the first load. Then record-setting high waters from the rising Mississippi endangered the plant. When flooding began on April 30, 2011, the site was within 500 yards of the rising waterline. Thanks to the modular design, the plant was first on the rescue list, and was mobilized and moved to a secure place ‘on the high ground' in a matter of hours. No cranes, no site work, just ‘down and out'. This saved thousands of the dollars that would be needed to build berms around the shop, offices, and the stationary HMA plant, all within the inevitable flooding area. Now that the river has receded, the work to remove the berms is completed and the high-mobility Astec Concrete Plant is back on site, completing Phase One of the runway work.
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