During the 2022 hurricane season, Puerto Rico faced disastrous flooding brought on by Hurricane Fiona. Despite its Category 1 rating, the effects of Fiona's massive rainfall submerged homes that were already damaged from Category 4 Hurricane Maria in 2017. Since then, buildings have slowly sunk in the ground due to liquefaction, or water and loose sediments at ground surface. Any new construction on Puerto Rico's weak soil must be built on strong foundations made to resist future liquefaction, especially for something the size of La Cala--the latest luxury residential complex in Dorado, Puerto Rico currently underway for the world-renowned, Ritz-Carlton Reserve. 

MRD LLC, a Puerto Rican based contractor, recently prepared the foundation for the high-end neighborhood that will include 16 houses, each with an average sale value of $35 million. As leaders in ground improvement, soil reinforcement and deep foundations the experts at MRD first installed stone columns to help mitigate the potential for liquefaction by increasing the density of surrounding soil. To accomplish this, the contractor rented two ICE® 12E Excavator-Mounted Vibratory Hammers and an ICE® EX-25 Rotary Head. Pre-drilling was first accomplished by the ICE® EX-25 to drill out the soils to the desired design depth. After pre-drilling was accomplished, a special tool was then inserted with the ICE® 12E Vibratory Hammer to compact the gravel to further strengthen the area. Once completed, the MRD team then used the two ICE® 12E Excavator-Mounted Hammers, the largest in the ICE® Mounted Excavator series, to install the 18" (in) impact piers to grade.

This contractor chose to reach out to their ICE® service team for some deep foundation solutions that would give their crew an edge -- and it certainly exceeded their expectations. In fact, ICE®'s rotary attachments helped them to greatly improve installation time compared to the standard equipment they had been using previously. The MRD crew was very pleased, stating that "the ICE® 12E has been efficient in terms of energy for the compaction/construction, as well as the ICE® EX-25 for pre-drilling".  

International Construction Equipment, Inc values its Latin American customers and thanks MRD for the opportunity to show the Puerto Rican construction industry the quality and power of the ICE® line. Congratulations to the entire MRD team on a job well done!  

Learn more about the ICE® 12E and ICE® EX-25 Rotary Head 

Media Contact-    
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA    
Director Marketing, Brand and Media Relations    
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc    
Office - 704-821-8200    
Email - marketing@iceusa.com 

A project is underway to stabilize three different sites along the busy U.S. 49 corridor in Yazoo City, MS. Two of these sites are less than a mile from each other making this an integral repair to the area as U.S. 49 is one of the most important highways in Mississippi and was the state's first highway to see a significant rural road segment with four-lanes. Today, it is still the only four-lane route that directly connects the state's capital and largest city, Jackson, to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  Unfortunately, slope failures frequently occur in highway embankments in the area due to the expansive Yazoo Clay. In addition, the Mississippi climate, especially the high volume of precipitation, also plays a significant role in the development of these landslides. This soil is highly expansive and experiences repeated shrink-swell behavior, which softens the soil, reduces its strength, and makes it vulnerable to failure. 

To address this problem a $1.6 million contract from the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) was awarded to Cook & Son Construction, LLC of Smithville, MS. Cook & Son; a contractor who specializes in road construction, road maintenance, road reconditioning, bridge & culvert replacements, drainage structures; were selected due to their innovative approaches to evaluate slope failures and provide cost-effective repair and mitigation techniques. 

As part of their plan, the experts at Cook & Son wisely chose to purchase an ICE® I-30 Diesel Impact Hammer; with its simple reliable design, automatic lubrication, and various accessory options; from their local International Construction Equipment, Inc. (ICE®) Sales Representative.  However, due to the clay soils, it was determined that they would also utilize an ICE® 7E-SG attached to their excavator to first stand the piles and pre drive them into the ground as far as possible. They then further drive the 55' (ft) 14" (in) steel H-piles to final grade using their ICE® I-30 in 26" (in) swinging leads.  

Recently, the pile driving portions for the second and third site have been completed along with the installation of a soil nail wall at the first site. Cook & Son crews are currently working on drainage structures throughout the project, along with the final pile driving portion at the first site. Completion of this project is scheduled to be finalized this summer. Fantastic work to the entire Cook & Sons team! ICE® applauds your hard work and dedication to assuring the safety of Mississippians and those that travel the historic U.S. 49 highway. 

Are you interested in what ICE® deep foundation equipment can do to enhance your next job? Contact your Regional ICE® Sales & Service Team!

Learn more about the ICE® I-30 , the ICE® 7E-SG and our various assortment of ICE® Leads 

Media Contact-              
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA              
Vice President Marketing, Brand and Media Relations  
Vice President IT and IT Comm         
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc              
Office - 704-821-8200          Email - marketing@iceusa.com 

Recently, critical work began to stabilize the soil beneath an historic Masonic Temple in Watertown, WI. This project included stabilizing an existing beam and masonry wall in the basement of the existing temple,  jet grouting soil stabilization below the basement floor down to the bedrock, installation of interior drain tile, weeps, and sump pit, the removal of a portion of the existing hollow sidewalk, and the installation of waterproofing on the south basement wall to prepare for future bridge construction and to remove a concrete structure within the public right-of-way. During this rehabilitation, the Temple building also underwent foundation disconnection from the bridge along with the stabilization processes.  
 
Centered on an historic public square with a mix of retail and professional services, offices, civic buildings, and cultural and recreational destinations this important $2 million dollar construction project was awarded to McMullen and Pitz in late 2023. Engineering and Construction Innovations (ECI) was subcontracted to develop a value-engineered soil stabilization system to meet the performance requirements while also bringing the total project cost in line with the City's available funding.  In January of 2024, the contractor began the arduous task of completing the construction of a secant pile wall system that included temporary 14" OD casing socketed into bedrock to create permanent secant piles in an extremely limited space along with specific time constraints. For this project, the experts at ECI chose to use a MC8D Comacchio Limited Access Drill Rig with the assistance of their local ICE® (International Construction Equipment, Inc) sales representative to install the duplex inner rod casing required to stabilize the structure. Selected specifically for its high torque and crowd in <20,000 lb drill, the MC8D was modified at ECI's shop (with input from ICE® technicians) to meet the 9' (ft) head room restriction requirements while still installing the required diameter casing under the basement of this historic building. Other challenges faced by the ECI crew included working in a confined space and the removal of urban fill over varying weathered and fractured bedrock found below the water table of adjacent river. Secant piles were also installed up to almost 20' depths.  
 
Bravo, ECI! Your team's ability to value engineer a contractor designed solution that met an extremely tight timeline (12 weeks) was brilliant! ICE® is proud to offer drill rigs that can be specifically designed around the tooling and equipment to best suit the job and with limited modifications. Our experienced ICE® Sales and Service Team looks forward to continuing to supply our valued customers, like ECI, with the dependable deep foundation equipment they can count on.

The first utility-scale offshore wind project for Rhode Island is underway to bring clean energy to its citizens. Just off the shore of Kingstown, RI, Revolution Wind is constructing wind turbines to provide energy to Rhode Island and surrounding communities. Once complete, the 704-megawatt wind farm will deliver 400 megawatts of clean, affordable offshore wind power to Rhode Island and 304 megawatts to Connecticut, powering more than 350,000 homes across the two states, helping them reach their current climate goals.  

Skanska Construction, one of the world's leading project development and construction companies, has been awarded the job to build the power plant that the electricity provided by the wind turbines will be stored in. First, the collected power travels through cables under the water and is transferred to the power station. Then, it will be cleaned and distributed to provide energy to the grid. For this delicate project, Skanska selected to use an ICE® Model 44E Vibratory Hammer for its 137-ton driving force as well as its maximum frequency of 1450 VPM. Provided by the experts at International Construction Equipment, Inc, the ICE® 44E was utilized to drive the steel H beams and sheet pile for a combi-wall that will be the foundation of the future power station.  

Revolution Wind will create thousands of direct, indirect, and induced jobs, as well as permanent operations and maintenance jobs across both Rhode Island and Connecticut. Wind farms have become an exceedingly popular source of energy and are starting to be seen along the entire east coast. International Construction Equipment, Inc ICE® are extremely proud to have been a part of this project and celebrate Skanska Construction's efforts that are sure to serve generations of people in the Northeastern US for years to come.  

 Learn More about the ICE® 44E

Media Contact-              
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA              
Vice President Marketing, Brand and Media Relations  
Vice President IT and IT Comm         
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc              
Office - 704-821-8200          Email - marketing@iceusa.com 

The $3.1-billion extension of Sound Transit's Light Rail Federal Way Link system in the Seattle, WA metropolitan area will transform the way that residents travel for work and leisure purposes. Under construction since 2019, the extension will be 7.8 miles long and will feature three new stations, creating a faster alternative route for those traveling between the cities of SeaTac and Federal Way in Washington state. Completion is estimated to be late 2026 and will serve an estimated 37,000 daily riders by 2035. Sound Transit will upgrade city streets impacted by the project. Improvements include new sidewalks, street lighting, drainage, and undergrounding of overhead utility lines. 

Developing a new long-span bridge design over an unstable soil area is a challenge, however Kiewit Infrastructure West Company (Kiewit) the design-build contractor wisely hired Subsurface Construction Company (Subsurface) to facilitate the foundation and temporary work required for this project. Subsurface is a leading design-build geotechnical specialty soil nail, soldier pile, and micropile contractor that develops and constructs ground shoring and underpinning solutions custom designed to fit each job, making them the perfect choice. 

Approximately 4 miles of the line extension are elevated with 188 columns. Of those, over 130 are complete, as well as 50 girder spans. Drilled shafts support the columns and girder spans and as of early 2024, 121 drilled shafts for constructing elevated guideway and station facilities have been completed. To relieve congestion, improve transit performance, and enhance mobility along a busy portion of southern King County, Subsurface Construction is currently constructing a retaining wall built to withstand any seismic disruptions that will support a crucial 1,100-foot-long bridge going over a 500-foot span of unstable soil along the railway path. To help with this critical fitting, Subsurface reached out to their International Construction Equipment, Inc. (ICE®) regional drilling experts who recommended the Comacchio MC-20A Drill Rig for drilling the installation sites for strand anchors. Subsurface crew grouted them in with a Tecniwell GMP822 fully automated grout plant. These underground drilled shafts are about 10' (ft) in diameter with a depth ranging from 80' - 130' (ft), dependent on soil conditions, and will serve as foundations for the above-ground columns. Temporary work will support the wall as they excavate, ensuring stability and safety while minimizing the excavation area, keeping the sides of deep excavations stable, and ensuring that movements will not cause damage to neighboring structures or to utilities in the surrounding ground. 

International Construction Equipment, Inc is proud to have once again supplied Subsurface with the equipment needed to help them complete the foundation that will provide a fast, reliable, and environmentally friendly transit option for commuters throughout the Seattle region. Call your nearest ICE® Sales Representative today to learn how a Comacchio drill rig can ensure success on your next project! 

Learn more about the Comacchio MC 20A and other fully articulated multipurpose rigs of the Comacchio fleet. 

Media Contact-    
Pollyanna Cunningham, MA, MBA    
Vice President Marketing, Brand and Media Relations  

Vice President IT and IT Comm 
ICE® - International Construction Equipment, Inc    
Office - 704-821-8200    
Email - marketing@iceusa.com   

The Beaver River Bridge located just outside of Pittsburgh, PA, is being reconstructed and the project is now approaching the third and final phase of the process. This project, in North Sewickley Township, Homewood Borough and Big Beaver Borough in Beaver County, involves the complete replacement of the Mainline Bridge over the Beaver River. Along with the Beaver River Ridge construction, two miles of the Turnpike's east-west mainline (Interstate 76) between Milepost 12 and Milepost 14 PA will also be widened. Upon completion of this project, the existing four-lane facility will be upgraded to include six 12' (ft) travel lanes, three eastbound and three westbound, 12' (ft) shoulders and 10'(ft) medians in each direction.  

The $270 million dollar project was awarded to Fay, S&B USA Construction who offer expertise in both commercial and heavy civil construction fields. Fay, S&B USA have partnered with International Construction Equipment, Inc. (ICE®) to drive steel pipe piles for the new bridge foundation. To insert the pipe piles into the bedrock the experts at Fay will be using an ICE® Model 66 Vibratory Hammer to create a strong foundation for this important interchange. The ICE® Model 66 has a driving force of 245 tons as well as a maximum frequency of 1600 VPM, making it the perfect choice to keep this project on time and on budget.  

Having wider lanes and new interchange ramps will create a more forgiving buffer for local drivers, especially in high-speed environments where narrow lanes may feel uncomfortable or increase potential for side-swipe collisions. This project will also lower the car accident rate along the turnpike and Beaver River Bridge and improve the traffic flow. Fay, S&B USA Construction have done a fantastic job with the reconstruction of the bridge so far and are currently still on pace for the estimated completion date in 2027. International Construction Equipment, Inc. (ICE®) is pleased to have been a part of this bridge project which will serve commuters and residents for many years to come. 

Learn more about the ICE® Model 66