UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA

In 2019, RAECO Builders had the pleasure of working with the University of South Dakota on a new student parking lot. The project came with the standard needs of a parking lot pour except for the timeframe. The lot needed to be ready for the student's return to campus in the Fall.

The growth that USD was experiencing at the time came with some need for infrastructure updates. Brian Muehlbeier from USD was in charge of getting the project organized and finding a contractor. "USD put out the project for open bid, RAECO came in with the best bid," says Brian. "The project did have some challenges, it needed to be completed by the first week in August, and it was double the size of the old parking lot."

RAECO ON THE JOB

RAECO hit the ground running in May, just as soon as the students had left campus for summer break. The first task was tearing out the old lot, asphalt, curb, and gutter. Once the old lot was demoed and removed, RAECO began the ground prep and grading, all preparing for the new lot pour.

"Communications was as professional and top-notch as it gets," recalls Brian. The small project window required the RAECO team to keep the client updated to ensure the project would be complete in time.

“We do not often go out to the bid market for projects. We came across this project at USD for the new parking lot, and it was a project that was perfect for utilizing our GPS system with our laser screed,” states Tom Jurgens (RAECO’s owner). “Not only did this project turn out to be successful for all involved, but we also made a great friend with Brian!”

CO-WORKING

When it came time for the pour, third party consultant and project engineer Weston Blasius, was on hand to help make sure things went as planned. "One challenge of this project was the minimum grade needed for drainage," quotes Weston. This request and challenge was nothing new for RAECO and their state of the art equipment. RAECO has invested in multiple concrete laser screeds for use in these massive pours. "RAECO was able to accommodate the needs of this project with their screed. Since there was no need for conventional forming (because of the use of the screed), they could save a ton of time. Most companies would have needed six pours, RAECO did it in three, saving a ton of time and cost," recalls Weston.

RAECO’s Concrete Screed working on the USD parking lot project.

With the combination of great communication and the skilled application of the latest technology, aka the laser screed, RAECO met the tight deadline and had the new parking lot ready for the student's arrival. "This project is meeting our needs and has been an overall success!" exclaims Brian.

PROJECT SPECS

Approximately 62,000 square ft of 5” concrete parking Lot.
Approximately 330’ long and 180 foot wide, with approaches and fillets
Nearly 5,2OO square feet of reinforced sidewalk.
1.100 square foot lineal feet of curb and gutter
Use of a Laser Screed and our blade being controlled by GPS, over run was less than half of a percent.

If you are in need of a professional concrete contractor to help with your foundation, flatwork, and more, look no further than RAECO Builders. We're here and ready for your project. Contact us today to get your project started. Please contact us today.

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