Redi-Rock of Central Maine honored with “Freestanding Wall of the Year” from Redi-Rock International

Redi-Rock of Central Maine out of Sangerville, ME was awarded the Rocky Award for Freestanding Wall of the Year for their work at the Maine General Hospital Alfond Center for Health. The Rocky Awards are an annual honor recognizing the best Redi-Rock walls built in the past year in five different categories. More than 130 Redi-Rock manufacturers across North America and Europe competed for these prestigious awards which were presented in July. The Challenge: When the Maine General Hospital started construction on the Alfond Center for Health, they faced some unique challenges. Creating space to build on the hilly site required eleven retaining and freestanding walls totaling 23,100 sq. ft.

“There was 50-feet of grade difference across the site. This required significant cuts and fills,” explained Jeff Benway, PE of SFC Engineering. In addition to the site challenges, this project also faced a very tight construction schedule that needed to be completed over multiple phases. The Solution: Designers chose Redi-Rock from local manufacturer Redi-Rock of Central Maine to create the retaining and freestanding walls. Redi-Rock is a versatile system, with the ability to build gravity retaining walls, reinforced retaining walls, and freestanding walls. The hospital had two access points: one dedicated for emergency vehicles and the other to all other traffic. There was no room behind the blocks to put in a guardrail, so this necessitated the use of freestanding blocks with a poured-in-place concrete beam to act as a guardrail. The most visible wall on the property stood at the main entrance of the hospital. This Ledgestone texture freestanding wall created a backdrop for the hospital’s entrance sign.

“The wall ‘hides’ the detention basin from people driving up to the hospital and at the same time creates a nice entryway,” Benway explained. The project required additional Redi-Rock retaining walls to create space for parking lots and loading docks. Due to a very tight construction schedule, Redi-Rock of Central Maine coordinated with nearby Redi-Rock Walls of New England to meet the project’s schedule. Learn more about Redi-Rock of Central Maine—visit http://www.haleyconstructioninc.com/redi-rock.asp Learn more about Redi-Rock International—visit www.redi-rock.com