Why Membership Benefits Refractory Contractors

In March 2024, at the ASA committee meetings in Austin, TX, the question came up about refractory contractors, and why that industry segment is so under-represented in the association. Considering my background, I felt qualified to address the issue. Much of my work involved shotcrete installation of refractory material. I began gunning refractory and lining steel teeming ladles in 1975, at the J&L Aliquippa Works. I gunned blast furnace troughs at United States Steel, Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel, and Crucible Specialty Steel. Over subsequent years, we’ve serviced the power industry, installing gunned refractory in power plant ash hoppers, burners, baffles, and power plant penthouse areas in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, New York and Maryland.

The Rondout Bypass Tunnel Shafts – Shotcrete Lining

The Rondout-West Branch Tunnel (RWBT), a segment of the Delaware Aqueduct (the Aqueduct), was built from 1937 to 1944 and provides about 50% of New York City’s total water supply. The tunnel is concrete lined and has a finished inside diameter of 13.5 ft (4.1 m). It is about 45 mi (72 km) in length and runs in the southeasterly direction from the Rondout to the West Branch Reservoirs.

O’Hare Plaza West Drive and Executive Garage Restoration

While infrastructure projects such as parking garages are often the last projects to be funded due to their utilitarian nature, they are important to the health of commercial properties since they are often the first impression for tenants and visitors. At O’Hare Plaza, the parking garage serves the 700,000 ft2 (65,000 m2) office complex.

The Neville Island Bridge Project

The Neville Island Bridge Rehabilitation project originally came out for bid in 2018. The bridge is located in Allegheny County, PA and within PennDOT’s District 11. In the bid package, it was noted that construction could not begin until a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons had fledged their young, which translated to a late summer start.

Moyie Dam Repair: Back to the Future

Moyie Dam at Bonner’s Ferry in northern Idaho started initial construction just before WWII. They shut down construction during the war. After the war was over, the dam went into service in the late 1950s.

TAKING TUSCARORA INTO ANOTHER CENTURY

The Tuscarora Mountain Tunnels in Pennsylvania have a fascinating history. The older of the two tunnels, built between 1938 and 1940, was designed to carry a railroad that never came into service. Industrialists of the day, William Henry Vanderbilt and Andrew Carnegie, were backers of the scheme which was halted when they struck a deal with rival railroad owners.

SHOTCRETE VS FIRE AND WATER REPLACEMENT OF FLUME 4/5/6 AND 30

On August 14, 2021, the Caldor Fire started in Northern California near Pollock Pines, CA. The fire ended up consuming almost 222,000 acres (90,000 hectares) and seriously threatened South Lake Tahoe. Besides the over 1000 structures that were lost, the fire also burned along a major portion of the El Dorado Irrigation District’s Canal (EID) which provides drinking and irrigation water to numerous communities throughout the area