When Virginia Highland Airport Authority sought to extend runway six into a flood zone, they needed an underground utility product that could reduce the risk of flooding, redirect bypass of a nearby creek, and enable a swift schedule. That’s where Tindall’s expert engineers and infrastructure team came in, specially designing a 12-foot by eight-foot triple barrel precast box culvert system that supported 67 feet of fill. Tindall also designed a precast headwall, complete with footings and 84-foot wing walls.
Owner
Virginia Highlands Airport Authority
Architect
Delta Airport Consultants, Inc.
Contractor
Glass Machinery and Excavation
Location
Abington, VA
Tindall’s custom culvert solution provided a range of benefits to this project. First, they required less material to produce, reducing the amount of precast needed by nearly 100,000 tons, which empowered the production team to move quickly. Once on site, components could be installed at a rate of one 60,000-pound piece every fifteen minutes, and Tindall’s jointing system negated the need for grouting, greatly increasing the speed of installation. Finally, Tindall’s engineers found a solution for providing openings in multiple culvert sections, allowing the bypass of a nearby creek to be redirected, which further reduced flood risks — no simple task with the walls needing to support 67 feet of fill.
In the end, Tindall’s engineers and infrastructure team delivered an innovative system that fully achieved the goals of the project — all while increasing the ease of installation, mitigating risk by reducing the number of on-site employees, and reducing costs to the customer. Though the project was forced to stop and start multiple times due to an especially rainy season, Tindall’s exceptionally efficient solution kept the project on track.
