Wylie Civic Center

Wylie Civic Center

Project Name: Wylie Civic Center, PaveGro Fire Lane
Location: 300 Country Club Road, Wylie, Texas 75098
Owner: City of Wylie, Texas
Architect: Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture with Architexas
Landscape Architect: Newman, Jackson, Bieberstein, Inc.
General Contractor: Byrne Construction Services
Completion Date: Spring 2011
General Facts: Over 900 linear feet of PaveGro™ was installed at the Wylie Municipal Center for use as a fire lane.

The Story

Responding to the needs of a growing population than increased by 275% in the last decade, the City of Wylie answered the call in superb fashion. What began on the 253 area site in December of 2008 resulted in a municipal complex of mammoth proportions. Included in the development is a 45,737-sq-ft city hall, a 47,159-sq-ft recreation center and a 43,934-sq-ft library; the project also features one of the largest porches in Texas: 750 feet along the span of the building.

The City of Wylie, following in the footsteps of the cities of Austin and Arlington, is using TXI PaveGro as a fire lane around their newly completed municipal civic center. PaveGro consists of a specialty blend of expanded shale and a suitable sandy clay loam lightly compacted over a 2” stone layer and a geogrid membrane. The concept was introduced to the City of Wylie by a member of their design team – Newman, Jackson and Bieberstein – who used it success- fully for overflow parking at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. The city consulted with Terracon Consultants and Halff Associates to design a mix that would support the bearing capacity of an 80,000 pound fire truck. In this case, a 6” PaveGro mix over a 2” layer of stone and geogrid was used.

The process of creating a PaveGro fire lane is straightforward and requires very little hand labor. The subgrade is prepared to a 1-2% grade, scarified and proof rolled, and compacted to 95% standard proctor density at plus/minus 2% of optimum moisture. Concrete edging is installed to define the fire lane boundary and also to provide a stable edge for compaction.

The geogrid is then rolled out in sections and covered with a 2” layer of stone. This process continues until all the stone is added. The PaveGro material is then dumped, bladed and compacted to a consistent 6” depth. Once the finished grade is established, the material is charged with water before sodding operations.

Selecting turf for the PaveGro mix is an important consideration because a good root structure adds strength to the profile. Look for turf with quick establishment characteristics, good spreading, and the ability to recover from normal wear and tear. Light, frequent watering is recommended during grow-in until the roots become established. After the roots take hold in the profile, less frequent, deeper irrigation is recommended. Due to the porous nature of the medium, a slow release fertilizer is also a good choice. The best feature of the PaveGro product is that it is a natural, environmentally friendly solution to fire lanes, temporary parking and special event areas.

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