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in the middle and slowly lower it into the grandstands,” says Rodriguez. “We will utilize engineered pre cuts, much like you would do for an implosion. This will allow our crews to lower the canopy, slowly and meticulously, all in one massive piece.” Bringing down this coliseum is a bit like demoing a building within a building, as it was retrofitted back in 2001 and all of the columns were fiber wrapped and tons of concrete was added for support. “We are working through layers of construction material and a steel main skeleton with 2 ½ to 3-inch I-Beams,” says Rodriguez. “The seating area and steps are constructed of heavy concrete and we will remove, crush and recycle more than 25,000 cubic yards or 50,000 tons on this job.” Rodriguez added that the concrete was crushed to Greenbook Spec 1-inch minus and will be re purposed on and off-site during the construction of the new stadium. This is a LEED Gold Certified project, and along with recycling the concrete, National Demolition Contractors will also haul off around 250 tons of steel and massive amounts of other recyclable products like copper wiring, clean wood waste, aluminum, tin and other scrap
metals. The idea is to keep as much material out of the landfills as possible. Very little goes to waste, and an auction was even held July 13 in order to sell and re purpose everything from stadium seats and restaurant equipment to a long list of collectible items. To complete a job that is on such a tight schedule requires the use of modern, efficient heavy machinery. National Demolition Contractors has one of the largest excavator fleets in California that is made up primarily of Cat equipment. They currently own and maintain more than 30 excavators ranging from a Cat 303 mini excavator to their (2) Cat 365, 150,000 lb. excavators. They also have a full lineup of track loaders, wheel loaders, skid steers, a water truck and a Cat Telehandler, as well as a full compliment of primarily UB attachments that include 5,000 to 12,000 lb. hydraulic hammers and a variety of shears and grapples. They currently have 35-plus machines on-site at this time that include two long reach excavators capable of reaching up to 100 feet and 15 other Cat excavators of various sizes and a long list of attachments. In addition, they have track loaders, wheel loaders and rock
trucks on-site to support their 20-plus men crews who are working 10-hour shifts. Another obvious challenge on this project is the fact that the demolition process coincides with the return of the Rams franchise to the LA area. They are currently practicing and playing games at the LA Memorial Coliseum, while their new home and stadium is being constructed in Inglewood. Additionally, the USC Trojans play their home football games at the coliseum. The LA Memorial Coliseum is located in Exposition Park and sits adjacent to the Los Angeles Sports Arena. In order to limit disruptions and traffic issues, National Demolition Contractors is not able to truck materials in or out of the construction area. “We have to find other ways to be productive during these games and events, but we knew all of this coming into the job,” says Rodriguez. “This is why we have spent so much time in our scheduling on every aspect of this project. We spent no less than eight months in preparation before laying so much as a hammer to this building. Myself, along with our foremen, superintendents and operators have spent endless hours at meetings with officials
Above Left & Center: Will Ferrell, Co-Owner LAFC, operating National's Cat Mini-Excavator. Right: Will Ferrell with National Demolition Contractors Owners, Jeff and Jennifer Perry.
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2016 concrete issue CALCONTRACTOR
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