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Indianapolis, IN - In July 2007, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) announced plans for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP motorcycle race, the first event of its kind to take place since the one and only motorcycle event that was held there the year the facility opened in 1909. To accommodate the event, IMS needed to modify the existing 2.6 mile road course by constructing four new corners inside Turn 1 of the oval, which required Dry Run Creek, running inside of Turn 1, to be rerouted.
The Speedway was in need of a structure to enclose the creek beneath the new race track. Critical to the project, however, was the timeframe in which the structure needed to be completed. Delivery and installation would need to begin the first week of September, the soonest they could start construction inside the busy facility. IMS also required that installation of the structure be complete by the end of October, so racetrack paving could begin before winter weather set in.
The Speedway was originally looking at a twin concrete box for the enclosure, and hydraulic modeling was even performed on the option. However, IMS soon saw that its tight time constraints would not be conducive to a precast or cast-in-place option.
CONTECH’s Indiana team met with IMS officials to propose an aluminum structure, which could be fabricated, delivered, assembled and installed in time. Use of an aluminum invert instead of a cast-in-place foundation would also provide time savings. IMS chose to go with the aluminum option, which could also meet their needs both structurally and economically.
The twin structure, the largest aluminum box culvert installed in CONTECH history, was produced by the Winchester, Kentucky plant in about one month. Both boxes, each 1,144 feet long, have two elbows to accommodate a necessary curve. The CONTECH engineering team also developed a special invert system due to the close-spaced twin cells and lower-than-normal soil bearing capacity.
By the first week of September, the structure was ready to ship. Delivery of the 564,432 lbs. of aluminum required only 16 trucks. Production and installation teams agree that, considering the size of the order, the whole process went extremely smoothly.
The majority of the twin structure, which has a 20’-4” span and 4’-6” rise, will have a parking lot over top of it, while a portion will support a section of the bike track. IMS planned for all of construction inside the facility to be complete in time for Opening Day of the 2008 Indianapolis 500 in May.
MotoGP is the most sophisticated, prestigious motorcycle racing series in the world. The 2007 series featured 18 races in 15 countries around the globe. Installation of the aluminum box culverts is enabling the speedway to host motorcycle racing for only the second time in 99 years.
Owner:
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/
Engineer:
Fink, Roberts & Petrie
http://www.frpinc.com/
Contractor:
Platinum Services, Inc.
www.platinumpipe.com
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