Facing a Jan. 9 target driven by the presidential inauguration 11 days later, Skanska USA crews are on track to complete manual installation of 14,000 concrete pavers at the Lincoln Memorial East Plaza in Washington, D.C.
Sources: Skanska USA Building, Inc., Parsippany, N.J.; CP staff
Facing a Jan. 9 target driven by the presidential inauguration 11 days later, Skanska USA crews are on track to complete manual installation of 14,000 concrete pavers at the Lincoln Memorial East Plaza in Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania’s Hanover Architectural Products, no stranger to high-end, specified projects, is supplying its charcoal or tudor-colored Prest Paver stones in 12-in. and 24-in. square sizes.
The $3.7 million project spans a plaza between the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool leading to the Washington Monument. Skanska USA scheduled paver bed construction and installation with an eye toward the Jan. 20 swearing in of President-Elect Barack Obama and yearlong Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. A formal Lincoln Memorial rededication is scheduled for May 30.
Timely plaza completion has required Skanska USA to tinker with equipment to ensure paver symmetry in long, curving, and less-than-uniform lines. At first, the project was a bit of a puzzle, says Assistant Project Manager Giancarlo Bulfon. We spent two weeks cutting the stones using every saw or machine we could think of, but couldnÌt get a straight line. After some trial-and-error, he adds, installers created a walk-behind saw, placed on a set of rails to guide a perfect cut and carefully shape each paver to a unique curve. The saw will be used only on the Lincoln Memorial plaza and has contributed to early completion.