The availability of parking is primarily an issue of access for shoppers and store owners; but parking lots are never as easy as they look. Often, like the stores they serve, they are located on vast land tracts with soils that are not necessarily appropriate for sustained, long-term loads. In difficult, cold climates, freeze-thaw cycles are an additional threat to the integrity of paved surfaces.
Contractors and engineers working on the construction of large stores, particularly those known as “big box” retail outlets, are particularly aware of this problem.
For the construction of a new big box store in Corinne, Utah, the extensive parking lot was found to be located over weak soils. Base course reinforcement was needed.
Project engineers asked for geogrid reinforcement, and after investigating product options they chose NAUE Secugrid® 30/30 Q1 on the basis of strength, long-term performance, and cost effectiveness.
Secugrid® offered a number of advantages. Not only is it a stronger product than most others in its class, but it is a true biaxial product. Its strength is the same in both directions. This quality is vitally important to parking lot applications, for the inconsistent traffic patterns, applying stress in multiple directions, strain the base course. Secugrid’s® biaxial strength accepts and redistributes these stresses so that the integrity of the base course remains high and residual wear, such as reflective cracking on the surface, is prevented.
The parking lot’s life is extended. Reinforcing the base course keeps the surface pavement together.
The benefits beyond reinforcement are certain. For the store and shoppers, the aesthetic appeal of the clean parking lot creates a positive experience even before one enters the store. Store owners also save on long-term maintenance concerns.
For contractors, the wide rolls in which Secugrid® is shipped allow for easy deployment. Installation is quick and safe. In the case of the large parking lot reinforcement in Corrine, the biaxial nature of the geogrid allowed the installation crew to install geogrid rolls in any direction without worry. These aspects helped keep down construction and installation costs.
In total, 26,700 sq. yds. of Secugrid® 30/30 Q1 were installed.
DETAILS
Project location: Corinne, Utah
Date of installation: December 2009
Engineer: PacLand Engineering
Installation: Rawson Construction
Installed product: Secugrid® 30/30 Q1
For more information on Secugrid® products, and to download free copies of the Secugrid® 4D series of publications, visit http://www.secugrid.com. For more information on NAUE Geosynthetics, visit http://www.naue.com.
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