| Applications | ||||
|
December 2005
by Tony Grygera |
||||
|
When the Interstate Highway Act was enacted in 1956 under the
Eisenhower Administration, it had a significant impact on the nation
as a whole at the federal level as well as in local communities. One such area was Milwaukee. The Wisconsin city’s skyline experienced remarkable changes from 1964 to 1968 as the “Central Interchange” was built as part of this act to connect Milwaukee with the evolving interstate system. Now, nearly 40 years later, that interchange — now commonly referred to as the Marquette Interchange because of nearby Marquette University — hosts 300,000 vehicles per day, about double what it was designed to carry. It also provides access to 37 percent of the jobs and population in southeast Wisconsin. Many of the 7 million annual visitors to Milwaukee, Green Bay, and the Door Peninsula travel via “the Marquette.” Today, that interchange is the focus of an $810 million infrastructure improvement project. Projected for completion in 2008, the Marquette Interchange Project (MIP) is the largest highway project in Wisconsin history. Aside from replacing an aging, over-used structure, the project will also improve safety with longer sight distances and smoother curves. All left-hand exits and entrances will be eliminated. Acres of land will be freed-up for potential development, and the aesthetics of the ramps and bridges will be improved. |
||||
|
Recycling demolition material Concurrent with the MIP is the development of 1,200 acres in Milwaukee’s Menomonee River Valley (MRV). Land that was once a rail yard is being developed as an industrial park. Several nearby vacant buildings are being razed as well. Canal Street, which runs through the property, is being realigned and extended to provide an efficient ground-level connection from Miller Park on the west (home of the Milwaukee Brewers professional baseball team) to 6th Street on the east where Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson plans to open its museum in 2008. After the MIP and Canal Street projects are completed, Canal Street will temporarily carry freeway traffic while the east-west section of I-94 undergoes reconstruction. At the center of all this activity, Tracks Custom Crushing, a small but growing local firm, is using its train of mobile crushing and screening equipment to recycle demolition material from the MIP and MRV into usable materials that are then incorporated back into those projects. They are crushing on a city-owned site just east of Miller Park. Founded in 2004, the young company has been the successful bidder in several key local projects. Recently, the company added a new Nordberg ST620 track-mounted screen plant to its fleet. The triple-deck screen has dual-slope design for increased effectiveness. Following the Nordberg LT1315 track-mounted impact crusher and LT300HP track-mounted cone crusher, the new ST620 screener enables the firm to meet the state’s Department of Transportation specifications with its recycled concrete and asphalt. Tracks President Kevin Dahlgren says the company bought the screen plant largely because of the success it has had with its two Nordberg LT crushing plants. “Plus, the ST communicates directly with those LT units, greatly simplifying operation,” Dahlgren says. “It runs quietly and makes a high-quality product.” Making renovations
Like so many projects today, the MIP and MRV redevelopment are intended to be environmentally friendly. As much as possible, demolition materials are being recycled and used onsite. However, because it lies in a 100-year flood zone, new construction must be raised up for flood protection, which creates additional requirements for fill material. For example, the first tenant for the new MRV industrial park, Palermo Villa, Inc. had several feet of clay removed and replaced it with compacted, crushed stone — stone that was recycled from the MIP in order to achieve a solid footing for the new complex. At press time, Tracks Custom Crushing has processed more than 80,000 tons of concrete and asphalt and will continue to process a variety of materials that will be used in these projects. Concrete from the MIP is made to DOT spec 1.25 inch and is being used as road base in both the MIP and the Canal Street expansions. Asphalt from the MIP is made to DOT spec 1.25 inch and will be used under the new road shoulders of the MIP and I-94. Grain silos from the old Froedert Malt facility are being taken down, producing about 120,000 tons of recycled material. Of that, about 40,000 tons will be used on site, and the balance will go to the MIP. Dahlgren says the material preparation is excellent so production is typically about 2,000 tons per day but can be as much as 2,600 tons. Tracks Vice President Dale Dahlgren (Kevin Dahlgren’s father) notes that there are myriad advantages to using their track-mounted equipment. “It gives us a lot of flexibility,” he says. “For example, on this site, having the units in a train is the way to go. We have bid another job nearby for which we will simply split out the LT1315, move it to that site for the duration of the job, and then bring it right back.” For the Froedert Malt job, Tracks is planning to relocate the train and crush on location,” the elder Dahlgren notes. “It only takes a few loads to transport the entire system to the site.” Contrast that with the hundreds of trips with dump trucks that would be required to haul the demo material to a fixed crushing site, and then have to haul the recycled material back again. And onsite, the self-propelled equipment can quickly relocate to follow the material or adapt to changing conditions. “We can relocate on site and be crushing again in under two hours,” he says. As the Interstate Highway System approaches its 50th anniversary, mobile crushing and screening operations such as Dahlgreen’s will continue to play an increasing role in recycling and urban renewal applications.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Reprinted from Aggregates Manager Magazine |
