MARATHON, Wis. (December 13, 2001) – With its custom capabilities and innovative solutions, County Materials is part of Minnesota's answer to alleviating the Twin Cities long standing transportation troubles. The Prestress, Precast & Pipe division of County Materials in Roberts, Wisc., was called on to manufacture the concrete precast tunnel segments for the Hiawatha Line tunnel project; Minnesota's first light rail transit line.

Construction on the new Roberts, Wis. precast and prestress production facility.

Precast Concrete Piers support the new people mover at the Minneapolis/St. Paul Int'l Airport.

Tunnel panels stacked and ready for shipment to the LRT job site. Nearly 21,000 panels will have been produced when the project is completed.

Backed by project successes like the University of Minnesota's underground archives, County Materials was the concrete supplier of choice for the LRT tunnel. In a joint venture, County Materials and engineering group Technopref Industries of Quebec, Canada is manufacturing and supplying equipment and technology, and general contractors Obayashi/Johnson Bros. from Bloomington, Minn.-who've formed a partnership for this project-are tunnel engineers for the three and a half mile-long tunnel.

CNA, a Minneapolis-based civil engineering firm and general contractor, worked closely with C.S. McCrossan and County Materials in 1999 to create the University's one million square foot archive tunnel lined with precast concrete arch panels, 100 feet below ground level. "We met the challenges presented by the archive project's complex site conditions and rapid construction schedule, which made us an ideal candidate for working with Obayashi/Johnson Bros. on the light rail tunnel, "said Dave Reneson, precast division manager.

The company's achievements on the University's underground caverns earned them the 1999 PCI Design Award for Best Miscellaneous Structure and the Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award.

Although the LRT and archive tunnel projects share similarities, County Materials is fully prepared to accommodate new challenges that arise with its latest endeavor. A project of this magnitude has given County Materials the opportunity to expand its Roberts manufacturing facility and purchase additional state-of-the-art equipment that has been developed exclusively for this project. A new 120'x 575' production plant will house the European technology furnished by Technopref Industries. The production equipment consists of forms and a carousel process that rotates molds to different production stages including the steps for stripping molds, the insertion of steel reinforcements and a concrete pouring station.

The production process is completely computer automated for accurate batching. Twin-shaft mixers and a concrete shuttle bucket system prepare and deliver mixed concrete to the molds. Advancements made at the location will allow County Materials to stay on top of a fast-track production schedule.

County Materials trucks loaded with concrete segments have been rolling to the construction site since the German-built tunnel-boring machine began operation in October. To contain the freshly tunneled earth, segments are erected immediately behind the boring machine. It is expected to run 24 hours a day until completion.

Currently, production is in full gear and is running on schedule. “This project has been an exciting challenge so far,” said Reneson. There are very few like it in the United States. In fact, we're the first to supply one of this caliber in the entire west central region of the country."

With County Materials continuing to handle the special details of the project true-to-form, the result of the LRT tunnel will be a structure so masterfully crafted that the company could move into a new category of specialty construction projects. County Materials Corporation manufactures and supplies concrete products, building and design materials to bridge and highway projects, underground municipal projects, and commercial, residential and agricultural markets. Manufacturing and retail facilities are located throughout Wisconsin.