SAN JOSE, CA-Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc., a leader in delivering low-CO2 concrete to the San Francisco Bay Area, is successfully reducing traffic and neighborhood impact, while delivering concrete to two Bay Area projects — Sunnyvale's Moffett Park Building 6 and San Francisco's Presidio Parkway.

Central Concrete has been supplying concrete for the various Moffett Park construction projects for the past year. These iconic buildings, acting as a gateway to Silicon Valley, are bringing together best practices in architecture and construction and are targeted to receive LEED Gold Certification.

Most recently, Central Concrete has been working on the 200,000-square-foot class A Moffett Park Building 6, part of the Technology Corners at Moffett Park, which was leased to Google in 2011. In May 2013, Central Concrete pursued one of its most aggressive challenges to date — an extensive, continuous pour for the mat-slab foundation. This translated into twice delivering 9,000 cubic yards, each over 15 hours. Central Concrete needed to pour an average of 600 cubic yards of concrete an hour, compared to a project average of 150 yards per hour for commercial building pours.

Working closely with Level 10 Construction and Jos. J. Albanese, Inc., Central Concrete devised a plan to meet this 300% increase in production, deploying an average of 60 trucks an hour from four local Central Concrete batching facilities. Recognizing the impact the trucks could have on Bay Area traffic, Central Concrete initiated the two pours at midnight, starting on a Friday and concluding early Saturday afternoon.

“During my 40 years working in this industry, I would rank this massive production request easily in the top 20 most challenging,” said Tom Albanese, business development director for Central Concrete. “This highly choreographed operation took extensive planning and superb teamwork. By initiating pours at midnight, we minimized the impact of our fleet of trucks on the public while meeting all the needs specified by our partners, Level 10 and Jos. J. Albanese.”

“Central Concrete did a great job for us,” said Don Haynes, senior superintendent for Level 10 Construction. “Their attention to detail and ability to work within the highly aggressive project parameters allowed us to tackle this complex, challenging concrete pour with outstanding results.”

Currently under construction, San Francisco's Presidio Parkway will replace Doyle Drive. The new parkway, designed to fit within the natural contours of the Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, will act as a spectacular regional gateway to these city landmarks.

In keeping with its high standards for environmental stewardship and impact, Central Concrete erected an onsite portable plant. This innovative solution has significantly reduced truck travel distances, thereby minimizing Central Concrete's carbon footprint and traffic impacts.

Initiating pours on July 12, 2013, and ramping up significantly in the coming months, Central Concrete expects to deliver approximately seven mixes, totaling just over 131,000 cubic yards of concrete. Nearly 90% of Central Concrete's mixes will incorporate at least 50% cement replacement materials. As a result, these low-CO2 concrete mixes will significantly reduce the carbon footprint, compared to traditional mixes, delivering an estimated savings of 42.8 million pounds of CO2.

Lead contractors for the public-private partnership are Flatiron West, Inc., and Kiewit Infrastructure West Co.; subcontractors include Case Pacific Company and Malcolm Drilling Company, Inc.

Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc., a business unit of U.S. Concrete, Inc., has been serving the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 60 years. The company is recognized for engineering higher-performing concrete than traditional concrete while significantly lowering carbon footprints with its low-C02 mixes.

Unlike traditional concrete, Central Concrete's standard mixes deliver 50% or greater cement replacement materials, thereby significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the project under construction. Central Concrete is recognized for supplying its low-CO2 mixes to numerous San Francisco Bay Area signature projects.

Instant Insights /

Concrete Innovations Reduce Traffic and Neighborhood Impact

Related Stories

Recommended For You