Tavares Concrete Co. is a barrier wall and parapet specialist based out of Lorton, Va.
Tavares has been busy on a massive barrier project on I-495, or the Capital Beltway, which is the 64-mile-long interstate highway surrounding Washington, D.C. They are using their Gomaco three-track Commander III and slipforming barrier footings in one pass and then a 32-in.-tall barrier wall on top of the concrete footing. The barrier provides basic protection for the sound walls being constructed along the Beltway.
“The three-track Commander III works very well for this size of wall and is plenty of machine to accomplish the task,” Eloi Lourenco, vice president of Tavares Concrete, said.
Tavares Concrete enjoys the versatility of their Commander IIIs, because they never know what conditions they may be facing on the jobsite. Challenges can include tight-clearance conditions created by working in large-volume traffic areas to poor grade and more.
“There’s a new challenge every day when you’re slipforming,” Lourenco said. “You can’t just quit when that happens. You have to deal with it and the Commander III helps us do that. It’s very versatile. You can do the same thing three or four different ways. If the conditions aren’t perfect, say you have bad grade on one side, the Commander III is a machine that can be changed around so you can do the job.”
The Commander III’s All-Track Positioning (ATP) gives Tavares more options for dealing with obstacles. The telescoping right front leg hydraulically extends or retracts. The power-slide rear leg can hydraulically sideshift to the left for stability when pouring barrier. The power-swing left front leg can be positioned to clear continuous rebar or steel cages. ATP helps the Commander III accomplish various applications and work with the differences in grade elevations and unique logistics on jobsites.
