Through the success of a previous project with Cenex Harvest States in Kenosha, Wisconsin, VAA was awarded an opportunity to work on their next milling complex located at Mt. Pocono. The new mill was to be located on an existing rail to truck transload facility that delivered new cars to regional dealerships. It was a “brownfield” site.
The mill was designed to produce both flour and semolina, getting the semolina from durum wheat. The durum comes from the farmers who own CHS and is shipped in unit trains utilizing the rail lines available on the property. The products from the mill then supply New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia based food manufacturers.
VAA provided civil engineering, general arrangement and structural engineering services for the main facility and worked with Todd & Sargeant utilizing both a design/build delivery method.
The greatest challenge was working with the five jurisdictional agencies that had authority over the site and to obtain the necessary approvals. There were additional variances required due to the height of the building. The mill was located next to a residential area and a 3,200 acre golf course, which created great opposition as well. There was approximately a two year process of getting through all of the hearings and approvals. VAA acted on behalf of CHS throughout this process as their Owner’s Representative.
Our civil team worked extensively with the 40+ acre site to deal with ponding and run off issues due to the tremendous elevation variations. Our civil railroad track design team modified the track in areas with respect to the receiving area, upgraded portions and moved portions to provide alternate clearances.
Our structural team provided an alternate solution to Todd & Sargent to slip form the grain facility. The idea was to slip form the ends consisting of rectangular bins holding the grain, the raw product, and the flour, the finished product. Instead of slip forming the center multi story mill we designed a fixed form concrete frame and floors with the walls of insulated precast panels. This unique solution required less management and worked extremely well operationally and aesthetically.
Cenex Harvest States has always been a good neighbor to people and this project was no exception. We were able to assist CHS in finding solutions to their issues, including sound attenuation utilizing height and orientation of the roof top mounted fans. They have continued to be able to reside with a positive atmosphere, once built, in the Mt. Pocono area.
