King County, Washington’s DOT Coordinated Reduction of Waste Program

Milestones Provides Building Solution

for King County DOT

The King County Coordinated Reduction of Waste (CROW) program is a comprehensive construction waste recycling facility.  Road waste such as asphalt, cement, glass, brush, and street sweepings are collected and recycled with the goal of re-use.  This practice diverts debris from landfills and helps to preserve the environment.  The four fabric covered, steel truss buildings that are in use help the CROW Program redirect storm water run-off from debris piles and protects surface and groundwater from pollutants that would otherwise enter the system.  Milestones helped King County develop a creative building application that would let the CROW program function easily and efficiently.  The natural light inside the buildings reduces the need for added lighting and provides equipment operators enough light to view the areas they are trying to work in. 

  New York State Department of Transportation

Location: New York, USA
Building Size: 50' wide x 90'
Application: Salt Storage

Fabric Covered, Steel Truss Buildings

Used for Salt Storage in New York State

When two wood salt storage buildings collapsed within months of each other in February 2003, the New York State Department of Transportation (NY DOT) hired an independent engineering company to examine the remaining 146 salt storage buildings across the state to ensure there were no more building failures. The report concluded 70 more buildings suffered from major structural inefficiencies and a building solution was needed fast.

The repair cost estimates ranged from $20,000 to $180,000 per building and it was determined anything over $75,000 to repair needed to be replaced. A resident engineer in neighboring Allegany County constructed a fabric covered, steel truss building for salt storage in 2001 and was very impressed with it. He highly recommended fabric buildings for salt storage state-wide, and that proved to be the answer.

Fabric covered buildings were an immediate solution and all 72 buildings were installed in just four months. The fabric covered buildings were delivered and fully installed each building 90 days after NY DOT placed a building order.

According to the NY DOT, machine operators like the fabric buildings because the clear-span space and wide entranceways make accessing the salt much easier. In 2004, the NY DOT ordered another 20 buildings which were replaced by fabric buildings. To date, NY DOT along with several towns in the state have over 150 fabric covered, steel truss buildings that are used for salt storage.

Fabric buildings are easier to maintain than conventional buildings. If damage occurs on a particular section of a fabric building, the section can easily be replaced. Unlike NY DOT’s other buildings, fabric buildings don’t require specialized personnel to monitor and repair the buildings.

Fabric covered buildings are easier to maintain
than conventional buildings.

NY DOT chose over 150 fabric
buildings to help manage their
salt and road maintenance program.

These fabric buildings are used to
store salt range in size from

50' to 60' wide and 90' long.

The average time for a crew of four

to install a 60' wide x 90'  long building
is just seven working days.

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HMC Services

120 Fabric Covered Buildings Help Clear Roads

in the Canadian Rockies

Residents of the Selkirk district in British Columbia (B.C.) rely on HMC Services to salt and sand their roads in the winter. Slippery road conditions are dangerous in the Rocky Mountains, which is why the B.C. Ministry of Transportation contracts out road maintenance to HMC Services. Located in Revelstoke, a small community in the eastern corner of B.C., HMC Services looks after the maintenance of the Trans-Canada Highway as well as other well-traveled roadways within the district.

Road foreman, Bill Rear, explains, "HMC Services is a fairly large company. We employ approximately two hundred people in the province of BC and in three contract areas." With such a major contract and a lot of distance to cover, HMC Services turned to fabric ccovered buildings that would be portable and large enough to store equipment. "In order to do our job, we have to have a certain amount of equipment, large amounts of equipment actually, as well as personnel, buildings, and materials to carry on with this business."

"There's plenty of room for garage operations,

maintenance operations and storage.

This building provides so many benefits."
Bill Rear

Rear sees firsthand the benefits of using fabric covered buildings. "A great advantage with this type of building is that you can house all your equipment inside with so much room." HMC Services can store over two sanding trucks per building, with a lot of space left over. Entering and leaving the buildings is a simple process because of the clear-span interior. Drivers do not have to worry about poles, which increases maneuverability and allows them to dump sand in easier. "There's plenty of room for garage operations, maintenance operations and storage. This building provides so many benefits."

Installation time and design were two crucial factors when HMC Services chose their storage buildings. "The construction of these is the basic lock block - looks like a Lego set. But the advantage of this is when you need some coverage or a shed in a hurry, these things go up in a really quick time. It doesn't take a month of construction," says Rear. "They can put them up in a matter of a couple of days. And to us here, out in this remote location, that's a must."

Since 1998, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation has relied on over 120 fabric buildings for storage. Rear says, "We find these to be extremely valuable in our day-to-day operations. We find these buildings useful in extreme weather conditions when we need to work on our equipment. It's just an invaluable tool for business."