Central Concrete Supplies its Concrete Mix Designs for Bay Area Signature Projects - San Francisco's Exploratorium, Devil's Slide Tunnels and Bridges, Stanford's Bing Concert Hall

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Central Concrete, a U.S. Concrete, Inc. (NASDAQ-USCR) company, today announced that it supplied its concrete mix designs for three new San Francisco Bay Area projects – the recently opened Exploratorium in San Francisco, Devil's Slide Tunnel and Bridges, and Stanford's Bing Concert Hall.

San Francisco Exploratorium – Grand Opening April 17, 2013
San Francisco's New Exploratorium, with its 330,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space on Pier 15, was planned so that its design and construction would contribute to sustainability and net-zero energy goals. Bode Concrete, a Central Concrete company, provided the concrete for this renowned science museum. Several mixes were specified, including low-CO₂ mixes for the foundation elements.

Devil's Slide Tunnels and Bridges – Grand Opening March 25, 2013
Central Concrete supplied the concrete mix designs for the long-awaited Devil's Slide twin tunnels and bridges, California's first highway tunnel in nearly 50 years.

Located along the coast between Pacifica and Montara, the Devil's Slide portion of Route 1 has had a history of road closures due to rockslides and land slippage since its construction in 1937. Today's multi-phased project included the construction of twin tunnels that will allow motorists to bypass these major slide areas. The tunnels are about 4,100 feet long, 30 feet wide, 22 feet high and 60 feet apart and required roughly 225,000 cubic yards of excavation and 80,000 cubic yards of tunnel concrete.

The Devil's Slide project also included twin bridges spanning a valley. The two bridges are concrete, cast-in-place, segmental bridges, made up of more than 13,300 cubic yards of concrete, plus 1,100 cubic yards of concrete for the footings. To address the challenging environmental and site restrictions, Central Concrete established a portable plant on the job site.

Stanford's Bing Concert Hall: Grand Opening January 11, 2013
At its grand opening, Stanford's Bing Concert Hall was heralded as a transformational step forward in Stanford's arts initiatives. From its innovative vineyard-style arrangement, in which the audience is seated on all sides of the stage, to its innovations in acoustics, the Bing Concert Hall has won praise from attendees, performers and architectural design experts alike.

Central Concrete supplied 7,500 cubic yards of concrete for the project, selecting low-CO₂ mixes that reduced the overall carbon footprint by just over one million pounds.

"Central was pleased to supply our low-CO₂ concrete for this landmark project," said Jeff Davis, vice president and general manager, Central Concrete. "Audience members will be impressed by the unique uses of concrete in the Bing Concert Hall, in particular the ten stationary concrete walls that look like billowing sails. The fiberglass-reinforced concrete 'sails' are covered with acoustical plaster and also serve as screens for video projections."

About Central Concrete
Central Concrete Supply Co., Inc., a business unit of U.S. Concrete, Inc. (NASDAQ-USCR), has been serving the San Francisco Bay Area for over 60 years. The company is recognized for engineering higher-performing concrete than traditional concrete, while significantly lowering carbon footprints with its low-C0₂ mixes.

Unlike traditional concrete, Central's standard mixes deliver 50% or greater cement replacement materials, thereby significantly reducing the carbon footprint of the project under construction. Central Concrete is recognized for supplying its low-CO₂ mixes to numerous San Francisco Bay Area signature projects, including the Cathedral of Christ the Light Church, Oakland; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco – the world's greenest museum; NASA Ames Sustainability Base, Mountain View – the greenest federal building in the U.S.; David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Los Altos – largest net-zero building in Calif.; the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) headquarters – San Francisco's greenest office building; and the new Santa Clara 49er Stadium.

With 12 locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Concrete offers multiple points of service to meet the diverse operational needs of its customers.

SOURCE Central Concrete