Feb 5 2015
Easi-Set Worldwide, a subsidiary of the Smith-Midland Corporation, announced today that over seven miles of J-J Hooks barriers are currently being installed on Interstate 65 in the Kentucky counties of Hardin, Hart, and LaRue. The Kentucky Department of Transportation highway job, which contains over 2,000 precast concrete barrier pieces, was contracted to Scotty's Contracting & Stone, LLC.
To meet an ambitious project schedule, Scotty's had to install over a mile of barrier every two weeks. This required that Oldcastle Precast cast 30 pieces daily, with an additional 15 pieces on Saturday, to reliably deliver 1.25 miles of product every other week.
Michelle Powell, Sales Representative at Oldcastle Precast, says the time-sensitive project was undertaken to cut down on the abundance of accidents and vehicle cross-overs that have occurred on that section of I-65 recently. "Over the last few years the DOT has been trying to widen the 4-lane highway into a 6-lane thoroughfare," said Powell. "As part of that project, the department is installing a temporary barrier to manage traffic."
Once the quick-moving project was awarded, the contractor was required to be onsite and working within two weeks. Licensed nationally by Easi-Set Worldwide, the J-J Hooks barrier is currently approved and being used by 41 different state Departments of Transportation nationwide. Oldcastle Precast is delivering the final precast pieces to the jobsite this month.
Powell said the DOT was extremely pleased with the product and the production schedule. The contractor was able to install the barrier without the need for double shifts or other scheduling adjustments. "The average offload and set-in-place pace was 8-10 minutes per truck," said Powell, "with each truck delivering 5- to 20-foot wall pieces. This is much more efficient and safer than the old 'connector style' barrier walls."
Licensed by Easi-Set Worldwide, J-J Hooks comply with uniform federal guidelines (NCHRP 350 & MASH) for crash-testing permanent and temporary highway safety features. "Because J-J Hooks was already approved for use by the Kentucky DOT, the precaster and contractor were able to mobilize quickly and delivery the barriers promptly," said Moffette Tharpe, Managing Director for Easi-Set Worldwide. "This is a fairly large and complex project with speed-of-response and other constraints addressed through the use of J-J Hooks."
J-J Hooks, North America's most successful, proprietary precast concrete temporary barrier connection, has an extensive history of success and currently exceeds 12 million linear feet of product delivered. Installed on highway construction projects and in security barrier applications nationwide, J-J Hooks are being delivered at an average pace of one million feet annually.
About Easi-Set Worldwide
Easi-Set® Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation (DE), a publicly traded company (OTCQB: SMID), licenses the production and sale of proprietary precast products around the world. For more information on J-J Hooks or precast product licensing opportunities, please call (540) 439-8911 or visit www.jjhooks.com or www.EasiSet.com.
Source: http://smithmidland.com/