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We’re extremely proud to have designed and supplied the concrete for the MnDOT I-35W Stormwater Storage Facility, completed in spring of 2023. The National Ready Mix Concrete Association honored us with the prestigious Concrete Innovation Award for our role in this groundbreaking project. The MnDOT I-35W Stormwater Storage Facility stands as a testament to collaboration, innovation, and unwavering commitment to safety and sustainability.
This massive structure was constructed alongside I-35W on the South side of Minneapolis, MN, in the vicinity of 42nd Street. The structure is an underground water storage facility, with a capacity to hold 4.8 million gallons of water. It consists of six interlocking concrete tanks that are each 46 feet in diameter and 80 feet deep.
Per Kraemer, “The tanks are designed to accommodate a six-year flood event by storing the water while the drainage system catches up and is gradually released through drainage pipes to the Mississippi River.”
The original tunnel system was constructed in the 1960’s to carry stormwater runoff from the highway and the surrounding neighborhoods. As development within the 3,100-acre surface drainage area continued, the volume of water for the storage tunnels to handle increased. Previous heavy storm events on Minnesota’s I-35W in Minneapolis had caused flooding so intense within the existing stormwater tunnels that, in addition to major road closures, manhole lids would be blown off by water pressure. A 2-year storm event would result in the flooding of all I-35W traffic lanes and would take 1 hour to clear, while a 10-year storm event would take 2.5 hours to clear.
As part of a great team effort to mitigate flooding incidents, the Minnesota Department of Transportation contracted Brierley Associates, Barr Engineering and TKDA Team to design a new, underground concrete stormwater storage facility. The Kraemer North America and Nicholson Construction Company Joint Venture then took over the construction phase of the $72 million project through MnDOT’s Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) project delivery process.
The location of the stormwater storage facility presented unique geotechnical and construction challenges, such as: a high groundwater table environment, a variable glacial geology, unbalanced loading on the final structure, the relationship of the new structure on the maintenance of the active service stormwater system, and a tight construction area within a dense residential and business corridor.
We are proud to have designed and supplied highly technical concrete for this project with much of the work being placed by our concrete pump trucks. Our use of supplementary cementitious materials and specialty admixtures in the concrete was of utmost importance to minimize the environmental footprint and meet the performance-based specifications. Our task was to come up with concrete mixtures for a diverse range of applications while meeting the structural performance and constructability needs, which were all successfully met.
