From IW’s The Ironworker magazine –

Note: Most of the new edition of The Ironworker magazine is devoted to the current boom in steel reinforcing jobs across North America. It is filled with profiles of major projects underway across the continent, where rodbusters are at work, building vast facilities.

Today we post the first of several articles on the Suncoast Reinforcing LLC blog that we will share from this August 2024 edition of The Ironworker, an official publication of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers, AFL-CIO (IW).

We hope you enjoy our sharing of this excellent coverage of rodbuster work in the news.

Steel Strong – The Rise of Rebar

THE DELTA WIND FARM

DUNDEE, MISSISSIPPI

Amazon’s newest project, the Delta Wind Farm, is a 184.5 MW project under construction in Tunica County, which will be the first utility-scale wind farm in the state of Mississippi and will generate enough clean energy to power nearly 80,000 Mississippi homes annually.

The farm will consist of 41 wind turbines, weighing 169,600 pounds each foundation.

The rebar contractor on-site is West Wind Reinforcing with Victor Navarrete (general foreman), Jose Garcia, Hugo Galdamez, Jose Flores, Omar Novarrete, Jesus Jauregup, Armando Mercado, Antonio Mercado, Nestor Gomez, Alexander Hernandez, Israel Hernández, Leonel Hidalgo, Daniel Padilla, Eduardo Garduza, Yoel Maldonado, Salvador Cabrera and Anthony Sacco.

SHAPING SEATTLE’S SKYLINE

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Harris Rebar, an independent contractor affiliated with Local 86 (Seattle) since 1992, has made significant contributions to Seattle’s iconic skyline.

Harris Rebar maintains a longstanding reputation that has endured over the years in an ever-evolving industry.

Located just east of Lake Washington, Harris Rebar is currently laying the foundation and perimeter walls for a new project. The Bellevue 600 Phase 2 is a 31-story high-rise featuring six underground floors in the heart of Bellevue, Washington.

Despite the challenges the project’s tight surroundings posed, Harris Rebar rose to the occasion with determination and expertise.

Weeks before Harris put boots on the ground, Mario Rubio and Boris Ordenes were getting a head start with prefabbing the elevator core boundary elements and shear wall columns at an off-site column yard. Meanwhile, Zach Grosvenor, general foreman, and Ramon Paredes, superintendent, were making the final changes to the placing drawings to make placing the bar more efficient throughout the project.

Under a demanding schedule, Grosvenor and his highly skilled crew swiftly began placing the base mat foundation, which weighed approximately 2,300 tons. The momentum of the crew was immediate, and the project quickly took shape. The bottom mat consisted of seven layers of #11 rebar and eight layers of #18 rebar. Once the bottom mat was finished, the Harris team stepped aside to allow another trade the opportunity to complete their scope of work.

After the other trade finished their scope, the crew resumed work to install the top mat. The depth varied from 5 feet to 15 feet in different areas, requiring careful handling by the ironworkers. Working through the challenges, the crew efficiently completed the installation of the nine layers of rebar in the top mat in no time.

The final stages, involving the installation of 16,000 #10’s and #11’s shear ties, required 22 semi-trucks for delivery. Mitch Martin and the ironworkers began prefabricating the 78-foot-tall walls with #11 rebar spaced at 6 inches on center, along with shear walls incorporating #18 verticals.

Despite just starting, Grosvenor and his team have already placed half of the basement’s total weight. The phase was completed three weeks ahead of schedule. Harris Rebar and the highly skilled rodbusters of Local 86 consistently uphold quality and safety in every project they undertake.

Look for more reinforcing project photos and coverage from The Ironworker Aug. 9, in Suncoast Reinforcing’s Industry News Blog.