LCL / Asphalt Substitute / Port of Portland

As asphalt prices rise, cities are turning to concrete for road projects, because of the initial savings and lower long term maintenance costs.

Laboratory Building At UO Completed

Eugene - Lease Crutcher Lewis (Lewis) recently completed construction of the structure for a new research and teaching facility at the University of Oregon in Eugene.  The new Lorry I. Lokey Laboratories, scheduled for final completion in September of this year, will provide shared material sciences research space including a portion dedicated to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating the smallest units of matter.

Lokey Laboratories, a signature research facility of the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, will house a suite of analytical and characterization equipment, associated prep labs, data capture and analysis areas, and offices.

The 27,000 sq ft building is being constructed immediately adjacent to three other university buildings housing sensitive research programs and equipment.  In order to minimize the impact of construction, the Lewis team has developed an intensive communication and notification program to help maintain the integrity of the ongoing research.

Located underground, the new facility is embedded in a natural rock shelf to
minimize the impact of external vibration on laboratory equipment.  The design, developed by SRG Partnership, Inc., also incorporates various strategies to eliminate electromagnetic interference and thus maintain an environment conducive to research. 

The project will meet standards for sustainability equivalent to LEED silver
certification.  Green construction goals include: recycling 75% of all waste generated by the project; incorporating materials with low volatile organic compound (VOC) content; incorporating energy efficient mechanical systems; and preserving green space.

Springfield Skirts High Asphalt Prices with Concrete

Springfield – Rising oil prices forced the city of Springfield to start specifying concrete in street projects. When it’s two-lane South 42nd Street project went to bid, a public works engineer “ anticipated the possibility that asphalt would cost about the same

as concrete” so they requested bids both ways.   In recent years, Springfield implemented a standard practice to compare both pavement materials, asphalt and concrete, because like many Oregon public agencies it has fewer dollars to apply to “preservation” which normally refers to repetitive maintenance.

The more concrete streets that they “expect to last 50-60 years”, the less maintenance expense the city will incur in the future. Springfield has used this procedure numerous times and selected concrete often.