BeCo Concrete Products has wrapped up production and delivery of a nearly 300-piece Class III reinforced concrete pipe package: 1,080 feet of 144-in. diameter combined sewer sections, including 16 bends, and 1,192 feet of 66-in. diameter storm sewer sections, with 12 bends and six tees. The installation will anchor drainage infrastructure at IKEA St. Louis, a 380,000-sq.-ft., three-level store with 1,300 parking spaces.
Unique aspects centered on the large bore sections, for which the St. Louis-based producer incorporated three dog bone-style lifting pins. Two pins were embedded at the spigot end (top) for handling purposes in the plant, plus loading and unloading. A third pin, placed at the bell end (bottom) in line with one at the spigot end, serves pipe laying and field installation measures.
BeCo Concrete engineers and production crews also devised an efficient method for fabricating the 144-in. diameter bend sections. Determining that the traditional method of laying down the pipe and fabricating the bend from the middle would be time-consuming and difficult due to product scale—and compounded by hauling and trailer-securement challenges—they chose to leave the pipe in the standing position and fabricate the bend from the top, just below the lifting pins. The only other product that might have been allowed in lieu of the 144-in. reinforced concrete pipe was 11-ft. square precast box culvert. 
BeCo Concrete secured the drainage package with St. Louis-based S.M. Wilson & Co., which IKEA enlisted for an 18-month undertaking on a 21-acre site in the Cortex Innovation District. Among other environmental measures at the store, IKEA will evaluate potential on-site power generation to complement its current goal of renewable energy presence at nearly 90 percent of its U.S. locations. Also reflecting a sustainability commitment, the retailer is working with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and other local groups to recycle and salvage the existing buildings’ equipment, materials, and parts.
IKEA St. Louis will feature nearly 10,000 exclusively designed items, 50 inspirational room-settings, three model home interiors, a supervised children’s play area, and a 450-seat restaurant. In addition to the 500-plus jobs expected during the construction phase, approximately 300 coworkers will join the IKEA ranks when the new store opens later next year.