Provo River Constructors had eight GOMACO pavers at work on the I-15 Corridor Expansion Project (I-15 CORE) in the state of Utah.
Four of those pavers were four-track Commander IIIs, each slipforming its own unique application. One of the four Commander IIIs was equipped with the GOMACO V2 mold.
The Commander III with V2 mold was at work paving a variety of applications at different widths. Some of the changes were made on the go on ramp transitions, while others were hydraulic-width changes before the pours began. It paved 8- to 14-ft-wide shoulders and also variable-width ramps making on-the-go width changes from 10 to 13 ft. They also left the V2 mold mounted under the paver and attached a 13-ft sidemounted, zero-clearance mold to the Commander III.
“It has been quite the asset to this whole project,” Gaylen Gough, Provo River Constructor’s paving superintendent for the GOMACO Commander III with V2 mold, said. “It sure helps out being able to make that slide on the go and being able to change the dimensions of your pour as you need. The Commander III has a little bit of everything to add to the more difficult areas, all the way up to slipping a typical lane.”
The V2 mold includes a spreader plow to control the head of concrete in front of the mold. The plow has both horizontal and vertical movement and can be operated manually or set on automatic for maximum concrete control.
“I like the plow on the [concrete paver] and it has really filled a spot here for us,” Gough said. “We’re doing a lot of paving with a 2% or more slope. The plow helps us keep the material where it needs to be. The Commander III is very capable of doing just about anything that needs to be done, and we’re proving that on this project.”
No stringline was set on the project. Instead, all of the pavers were controlled with Leica 3-D guidance systems.
“Right out of the gate, we were hitting good numbers and getting good rides with this stringless system,” Gough said. “It also eliminates all of the headaches about truck access, tripping over the line, finishers having to worry about the line with their handles, and access is not as big of an issue by going stringless. I’ve been really impressed, and now I can’t imagine working without it.” R&B
