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 On
the Pomona Raceway in late December 2004, the
parallels between drag racing and concrete
cutting were as clear as the California sky. The
need for speed, safety, power and precision were
paramount — just like on race day — as CSDA
member United Concrete Coring & Sawing, Inc.
prepared to flat saw 200 feet of the drag strip
for removal and replacement.
The historic
Pomona Raceway, part of the Los Angeles County
Fairplex facility, is the oldest venue on the
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing
circuit. The NHRA, the world’s largest motor
sports association, held its first official race
in April 1953 on a slice of the LA County
Fairgrounds parking lot — now the Pomona
Raceway. Prior to the construction of this
track, hot rod enthusiasts had congregated in
the dry lake beds of the Mojave Desert, where in
the early 1930s they topped 100 MPH for the
first time.
Four decades
after the NHRA’s first race, the Pomona Raceway
underwent renovation as part of a $6 million
expansion project. The aggressive renovations
included upgrading the entire facility to
stadium quality with fan amenities such as VIP
towers and tall grandstands. Now, the popular
raceway hosts several NHRA events including the
season-opening internationals, Sport
Compact World Finals and Summit Racing Series
National Championship. The complex boasts 40,000
permanent grandstand seats and a
14,600-square-foot tower complete with corporate
suites and a modern press center. The track's
entire 1,320-foot racing surface was repaved in
2001 to extend the concrete launchpad from 330
to 660 feet. |
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 In
late 2004, the Pomona Fairplex Facilities
Department made the decision to remove and
replace a large section of the drag strip
because years of heavy use had caused
deterioration, especially in the burn out area
where the cars took off. The Department
contracted United Concrete Coring & Sawing,
Inc. of Riverside, California, to remove the
first 200 feet of the two drag strip lanes. Each
lane was 20 feet wide and consisted of
10-inch-thick concrete reinforced with rebar. It
also included a Class 2 sub-base with 90 percent
compaction (standard for material placed under
all concrete roadways during construction) and
conduits that held the starting line wiring for
lights and tree sensors. Concrete cutting
operators could not disturb the sub-base or any
of the conduits.
Concrete
cutting was the best method to meet the demands
of this job for a number of reasons. It was the
fastest, most cost-effective method and also
allowed for the removal of the drag strip
without disruption to the sub-base. It also
provided very clean cuts, an important
consideration because the removed concrete would
be used to construct a walkway through a garden
area next to the NHRA Motorsports Museum on the
Fairplex grounds. Hy-ram and Bobcat removal were
considered but quickly dismissed because of the
noise factor and time restrictions. Also, these
other methods would not have allowed for the
drag strip pieces to be reused as walkways.
The project
needed to be completed in one working day due to
the Facilities Department closing for the
Christmas Eve holiday. Operators were also
pressured by the threat of heavy rain forecasted
to hit Southern California the week after
Christmas, so work had to proceed quickly with
no delays. Adequate time was needed for the new
slab to be poured and cured before the opening
day of race season in February 2005. |
|
 In
order to start this job, United operators
completed a detailed layout by snapping chalk
lines and spraying clear acrylic over the lines.
Because the cut pieces would be reused as
walkways, operators had to ensure layout marks
would not be visible later. Spray paint would
have interfered with the "stepping stone" effect
that would later be applied to the concrete
before being replaced.
With layout complete,
operators were ready to start their engines.
From the starting line, they began flat sawing
the two lanes of the drag strip into 3-foot by
3-foot squares. United Concrete decided that in
order to complete the cutting in the one-day
time frame, cutting in a gradual step-cut order
was the best choice. Step cutting with three
saws was the best way to cut a checker board
layout to ensure each cut reached complete depth
in one pass. Operators followed each other in
line, the first one cutting with a 14-inch
blade, the second with an 18-inch blade and
finally the third with a 24-inch blade. The
first operator cut to a depth of about 2 inches
to keep the cut straight, the second cut to
7-1/2 inches and the third completed the cut to
the required 10-inch depth. The blade segment
sizes were 24 x 0.165, 18 x 0.165 and 14 x
0.165.
To protect all electric
wiring in the sub-base, two 2-foot by 20-foot
sections of the drag strip were only cut to a
depth of 3 inches, instead of the full 10
inches. This area containing the wiring required
special attention from the Facilities
Department.
Operators followed all the
appropriate safety precautions including wearing
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), hard hats,
ear protection and safety glasses.
Equipment used on the job
included three combo trucks, one 35-HP Meco flat
saw spinning the 14-inch blade, one 42-HP Meco
flat saw spinning the 18-inch blade and one
65-HP Meco flat saw spinning the 24-inch blade.
All blades were Terra Diamond cured concrete
blades. |
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As planned,
the cutting was completed in one day with total
job time from layout to completion amounting to
15 hours. Two of these hours were devoted to
layout as it was extremely important to ensure
the uniform size of concrete squares to be
reused in the museum walkway. In all, United
operators cut a total of 3,885 feet of
10-inch-thick, rebar-reinforced concrete.
United
Concrete has completed a variety of jobs for the
Pomona Fairplex Facilities Department including
demolition work, wall sawing, core drilling and
slab sawing. Many of the jobs take place just
prior to the annual Los Angeles County Fair, one
of the largest sources of income for the
Fairplex. United Concrete is often called out to
provide services on a same-day basis, earning
the company a reputation for responsiveness any
day of the week and any time of day. This has
led to a solid working relationship between
United Concrete and the Pomona Fairplex.
Tom McCloud,
co-owner of United Concrete Coring & Sawing, was
satisfied that his company was able to meet the
time and budget needs of the Pomona Fairplex
Facilities Department. "We were very satisfied
that our crew wrapped up the job in one day from
start to finish," McCloud said. "It was a clean
job with very straight cuts so the slabs could
be reused." |
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COMPANY PROFILE
United Concrete Coring & Sawing,
Inc. was started in 1993 by two brothers, Randy
and Tom McCloud. The company has eight trucks
and one branch location. They offer a complete
line of equipment to serve all their customers’
concrete cutting needs. Most importantly, they
have a crew of employees that gives 110 percent
every day, on every job. United Concrete has
been a member of CSDA since 1996.
RESOURCES
General Contractor: Pomona
Fairplex Facilities Department
Sawing & Drilling Contractor: United Concrete
Coring & Sawing, Inc. Riverside, CA
Methods Used: Flat Sawing
Tel: 951-789-1934
Fax: 951-789-1136
Web:
www.unitedconcretecutting.com
e-mail: united_c@pacbell.net |
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