Case Studies

Geotechnical

Colonial Parkway, Jamestown, Virgnia

The original Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Jamestown in Virginia was built over a marsh alongside the James River. Due to the low bearing capacity of the soft soil, the roadway began to settle. The concrete pavement was removed, along with three feet of in-situ soil with a unit weight of approximately 120 pcf. This was replaced with Solite lightweight aggregate, with a compacted density of less than 60 pcf and an internal angle of friction of 45 degrees.

Nauticus, The National Maritime Center & Freemason Harbor, Norfolk, Virginia

Land for the Nauticus museum Norfolk was created by reclaiming land from the Elizabeth River and the Norfolk Harbor. New bulkheads were created and backfilled with Solite to reduce the lateral load and limit settlement of the soil beneath the Solite fill.

The existing bulkheads at historic Freemason Harbor were failing due to the weight and lateral pressure of the natural soil fill. When the City of Norfolk decided to rehabilitate the area, the new bulkheads were backfilled with Solite to prevent unwanted settlement and excessive lateral loads.

Structural Lightweight Concrete

Eltham and Lord Delaware Bridges, West Point, Virginia

Two four lane bridges, the Eltham Bridge and the Lord Delaware Bridge, were constructed using lightweight concrete in several structural elements. The bridges carry Route 33 traffic into and out of West Point, Virginia over the Pamunky and Mattaponi Rivers.

8,000 psi HPC Lightweight concrete was used in prestressed bulb-tee girders to allow for the desired 240’ span length. 5,000 psi lightweight concrete was used for the bridge deck over the 240’ spans.

James Center, Richmond, Virginia

The James Center is a 21 story office and retail building in downtown Richmond. It utilized Solite lightweight concrete for the floor slabs of the concrete frame building.

The fire resistance characteristics of lightweight concrete allow thinner sections of concrete to meet code requirements for UL hourly rating. Lighter dead loads translate to savings in column and foundation member size.

Horticulture

Center Plaza, Glen Burnie, Maryland

Solite’s 3/8” Turfmatrix was used on the Center Plaza project to reduce the weight load of the growing media on this rooftop project. The use of Solite allowed the creation of the rooftop garden without exceeding the load capacity of the structure.

Solite retains moisture during dry periods and slowly releases it along with any soluble nutrients for the plant roots. The porous, cellular nature of Solite reduces compaction, increases soil porosity and allows effective plant nutrient management.