Duluth, MN – Seawall-Waterfront Reconstruction
When the previous seawall behind the DECC in Duluth was no longer sufficient in protecting the infrastructure behind it, a reconstruction project was started. In 2023, a new seawall plan was put into place, and the new seawall was designed to be more weather-resistant, and included a taller wall and wave return walls to help remedy the prior issue of Lake Superior’s waves exceeding the wall and flooding the street. This reconstructed space will also have new pedestrian and bicycle paths to help connect this area to Canal Park, and cruise ships will now begin docking along the seawall rather than docking in the bay and shuttling guests to land by smaller boats. We helped to create this new weather-resistant space by completing walls, flatwork, sidewalks, and installing boardwalk.
Fort Smith, AR – Fort Smith Regional Airport Arresting System
The Fort Smith Regional Airport is home to the Ebbing National Guard Base, which was selected in 2023 by the U.S. Air Force to be the long-term pilot training center that would support F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by foreign countries that participate in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. In order to make this airport functional for pilot training, a BAK 12/14 Arresting System had to be installed on both ends of the runway. This specific Arresting System is ideal for Air Force Civil joint-use airfields as the system can be raised when needed, and lowered when not in use to avoid any interference with lightweight civil aircraft. The arresting cable is used for any military aircraft equipped with a tailhook that experiences a problem and may run off the runway. When this situation occurs, the Arresting System is engaged by FAA employees working in the airport tower. The plane’s tailhook then catches the Arresting System wires that are stretched across the runway, and the wire is then pulled with the plane and works to rapidly decelerate the plane before it runs off the runway. For the install of this system in 2024, we installed the underground pits to house the brake, the tube for the belt that connects to the cable that goes across the runway, the fairlead beam foundation, and the trough for the retractable pendant (cable).
Duluth, MN – Aspirus St. Luke’s Hospital Expansion
A major expansion of one of Duluth’s area hospitals, Aspirus St. Luke’s, was completed in 2024. This expansion consisted of an 82,000 square foot vertical expansion of the current hospital, which added three stories to the facility. This project will provide Aspirus St. Luke’s with the ability to care for more patients, as well as offer the latest technology and a more efficient layout. While working on this expansion, we poured 83,000 square feet worth of concrete to complete flatwork, foundations, and a skywalk reconstruction.
Duluth, MN – Skyridge Flats
The Skyridge Flats affordable housing facility was built in 2024, and consists of 70 one-bedroom apartments. This facility is available to individuals that are age 55+ and are considered 50% and 30% area median income households. Skyridge Flats will also contain rooms that are reserved for veterans experiencing homelessness. This facility has provided many individuals in the community with affordable housing, and our work at this facility included the foundations and flatwork.
Duluth, MN – Brewery Creek Apartments
Brewery Creek Apartments was designed to help with the housing shortage throughout the city. With high demand and limited affordable housing in Duluth, options were scarce for individuals searching for housing. This new apartment complex offers 52 units with both one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment options, and is aimed at young adults who have faced homelessness. With the jobsite being built into the side of Duluth’s major hill, the space needed to be well thought out in order to complete this project. While the jobsite presented it’s own difficulties due to location, we successfully completed the foundations and flatwork for this project, and the facility was completed in 2024.
Makinen/Culver/Tower, MN – St. Louis County Maintenance Buildings
A multi-year project was started in 2022 to construct three new Public Works campuses for St. Louis County. These campuses were designed to ensure faster and more effective response for road maintenance, and replaced older buildings that were no longer effective for modern equipment and servicing equipment needs. This project provided each site with new buildings for storage, salt/sand domes, fuel systems, truck wash areas, paved driving and laydown areas, and brine storage systems. All of these new features will contribute to making road maintenance easier and more efficient. We completed the foundations and the flatwork for all three of these sites.
Two Harbors, MN – Louisiana-Pacific Expansion
Louisiana-Pacific’s plant in Two Harbors underwent an expansion in 2022 that increased both their capacity and productivity. This project included a 32,000 square foot building expansion, as well as an 88,000 square foot laydown yard. This laydown yard and surrounding concrete will provide Louisiana-Pacific with more storage space for their products, as well as easier access to the rest of their facility as the civil paving can act as a roadway to less accessible areas of their plant. Both the concrete for the building and the concrete for the laydown yard were completed by us, and our personal record for most yards of concrete poured in a single day was broken with 800 cubic yards.
Duluth, MN – Lakewalk Reconstruction
With the Lakewalk being one of Duluth’s largest attractions, a reconstruction of the popular pedestrian and bike trail along Lake Superior was done after a series of storms destroyed much of the area in 2017 and 2018. With this reconstruction in 2020, a concrete breakwall was installed along with an engineered wall of boulders to prevent future damage from the waves of Lake Superior. For this project, we completed the concrete breakwall, grade beams, flatwork, and the boardwalk.