Pyles Concrete seals 300,000-yd. Corps project

Sources: McNeilus Cos., Dodge Center, Minn.; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District

Corps officials staged a ceremonial mix placement April 19 in Russell Springs, Ky., to mark completion of the $594 million Wolf Creek Dam Remediation project, where nearly four years of 24/6 concrete deliveries have netted a work platform bearing on upwards of 1,200 piles.

The 106- to 275-ft. deep piles form a barrier wall at the foundation of a 4,000-ft. earthen embankment along Lake Cumberland in Jamestown, Ky.—upstream of Nashville. The structure’s condition compelled the Corps to effect a remediation plan in 2005, beginning with lake drawn down, followed by the awarding of a $403 million pile contact to Treviicos-Soletanche Joint Venture in 2008.

“The logistical challenges on this project were formidable but, together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and very experienced contractors, we made a great team,” said Doug Pyles, president of Pyles Concrete. “The stakes were pretty high, as well, with Nashville being downstream of the dam and the possibility of the dam failing before the repair work could be finished.”

The Columbia, Ky.-based producer deployed four new and 20 existing Oshkosh S-Series front discharge mixers at project onset. In tandem with the Oshkosh mixer fleet, Pyles Concrete set up a Con-E-Co Lo-Pro portable batch plant near the Wolf Creek site to tackle the entire load, more than 300,000 yd. The 24 S-Series mixers anchor a 35-truck fleet serving Pyles Concrete plants in Columbia, Edmonton, Liberty, Russell Springs and Somerset, Ky.