Port of Houston Bayport Terminal Container Yard

The Texas Division completed a new chapter in McCarthy's legacy in civil construction projects – the first project using Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC). The Bay Port Container Yard at Port of Houston included 47 acres of concrete—44 RCC, the other three were of Portland cement concrete paving.  

Roller compacted concrete, a concept first used in Europe, was introduced to North America in Canada and to the United States in Colorado around 1985. This method of construction takes aggregates and combines with cement and very little water to produce a mix that is placed like asphalt but acts like concrete. There is no reinforcing and for this project no crack control. The material itself is a 50/50 mix of 1” rock and sand mixed with around 15% cement by weight. The material is mixed in a continuous flight pug mill, hauled to the site in dump trucks, delivered to a modified asphalt paver and compacted and finished with twenty ton smooth drum rollers. The material is placed at a zero slump. The asphalt paver provides around 95% compaction at the back of the machine. The twenty ton roller starts finishing the material 10 feet behind the paver. The paver is modified with a vibratory screed and tamping bars to get the improved compaction.

The overall footprint of the project was four to eight feet of 95% compacted dirt, 8” of lime and cement stabilized dirt, Geotextile fabric, 4” of drainage rock, 12” of cement stabilized recycled concrete base and 18” of RCC. The 44 acres of RCC was placed in 3 ½ months.

The Port of Houston is a 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities. It is first in the United States in foreign waterborne tonnage. McCarthy has worked with the Port of Houston since 1992.