Levee Restoration Gets Fast Help from Allsite Tension Fabric Structures

Water, mud, snow, and freezing temperatures cause havoc at any construction site. For the Army Corps of Engineers and AECOM corporation, winter was causing serious delays in the urgent levee restoration project along the Missouri River. A series of levees had failed and contractors were working furiously to repair them in order to assure a working flood control system before weakened barriers caused further failures to occur.
The L-536 levee near Rockport, MO, along with a number of other levees along the Missouri River, had been wiped out by the floods of 2019. Nearby homes, businesses and farmland were flooded, disrupting lives and damaging the local economy. Restoring the levee was a high priority. However, the arrival of snow and freezing temperatures in the winter of 2020 threatened the successful delivery of the levee restoration project on time.
Allsite received an urgent request for tension fabric structures at an AECOM project site that would help crews provide protected indoor space to dry out cohesive materials for the levee repair in a heated indoor environment. The buildings would need to be able to deal with mud and water on the ground while providing protected space so that work could continue on schedule during the winter.

Urgent Need for Heated Structure at Levee Repair Project

Allsite received an urgent call for help on a Friday. The customer, AECOM, was in urgent need of a number of structures that would insulate the levee project work area from the prevailing cold and wet winter weather. Freezing temperatures meant the cohesive materials critical to rebuilding the levee walls could not be kept in the malleable conditions needed to place them without a way to keep them warm.
Allsite had a solution with its large, high clearance heavy-duty fabric structures, perfect for housing construction materials and providing a comfortable workspace for crews. The client agreed on four structures, 36 x 90 meters (x2) and 29 x 90 meters (x2). This equated to two 23,000 square-foot and two 19,000 square-foot buildings for a total of 84,000 sq. ft.
Allsite got right on the job, configuring the structures and preparing the contract over the weekend. AECOM gave Allsite the go-ahead on Tuesday afternoon. The component parts were gathered and ready to ship within days. Despite the restrictions due to COVID at the time, ten trucks left the Allsite lot with the first set of trucks going out on Thursday for the site with the solution needed to help AECOM keep their promise to deliver the levee work on time.

Overcoming Installation Challenges

When the installation crew arrived at the site, they got a good view of the challenges ahead. As expected, when there had been a major flood and broken levees, mud and water covered the area. Snow and wind hampered the installation work as well, with ice creating even more challenges. Equipment got stuck in the mud and, even as the building rose up bit by bit, it was caked in mud and would have to be cleaned before use. It was clear why AECOM needed the robust tension fabric structures to protect the construction materials from the intensely difficult conditions in the area. Despite the challenging situation, Allsite would be able to help them achieve that goal. The structures were successfully raised, cleaned up, and made ready for use.

Allsite structures are built for all types of conditions, and that design paid off well for this project. Allsite’s high strength, rust, and corrosion-resistant aluminum alloy frame are designed for easy assembly and to provide highly stable, durable support for the building. Industrial strength PVC panels are then tensioned carefully over the sturdy ribs of the frame, creating a well-insulated, strong building whose interior is well protected from the conditions outside. The curved structure sheds snow and rain, and the interior could be heated to provide the conditions needed to get the job done. Even in the extreme conditions at this work site, the Allsite installation team persisted and got the two structures up and running as promised.

With the structures up and running, AECOM was able to use the expansive, high clearance interior space to get their job done. With interior temperatures heated up to 80 degrees, the cohesive materials were conditioned for use and the rebuilding of the levee was able to move forward.

For Allsite, this was one of many challenges faced in the field where our crews must solve the challenges that confront them to get the job done and our buildings must create safe, protected, and comfortable spaces, sometimes in the harshest of conditions.
For this project, Allsite was able to deliver and start installing four structures totaling 84,000 sq, ft. with a crew of 10 people in less than 1 week’s notice during COVID. Not only was it difficult to source the labor to get this project ready and install it, but trucking and equipment were also difficult to source. Our team installed these structures in muddy, icy, wet conditions and delivered the buildings ahead of schedule allowing AECOM to beat their timeline and return the buildings back early.

All-Weather Fabric Structures for Construction and Environmental Remediation

Allsite provides year-round, all-weather structures for a wide variety of industries that face environmental challenges or remote locations, including construction, environmental remediation, mining, agriculture, and aircraft hangars. These industries need ample space quickly, a variety of anchoring options to accommodate the ground conditions at the site, and reliable performance in extreme climates and weather conditions.

But, the structures are also built to deliver the comfort and flexibility of traditional brick and mortar buildings, with lighting and ventilation, as well as insulation options to assure maximum comfort. They are electric and HVAC ready and can accommodate interior modifications for such uses as sports fields, office space, warehouses, trade shows, homeless shelters, and more uses.

Allsite structures range in widths from 66’ to 156’ and a peak height up to 54’. These structures can be any length required, in five-meter panel increments, and can be altered if requirements change. They are easily relocatable if needed at different project locations. Allsite tension fabric buildings can be leased or rented for short or long-term use, and are available quickly upon order, giving your organization maximum flexibility.

For more information, give Allsite a call today at 1-888-532-0472.

Levee Restoration Gets Fast Help from Allsite Tension Fabric Structures

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