Digging Detroit

When you watch the Red Wings in 2018, thank Hardman Construction.

Hardman stabilized the earth under the new Detroit Events Center that will be the home of the Red Wings after its June 2017 opening.

The job was the kind of job that only a few companies can do, Hardman being one of them. They weren’t about to allow it to slip past them.

“It’s kind of like finding a ‘67 Shelby Cobra,” Marty Gamble, Hardman’s vice president of geotechnical services, said.

Hardman was invited to bid on the job last December and was awarded the bid March 26. On April 6, they started moving earth.

The job involved building up a retaining wall that will serve as the base of the structure. The wall is 2,450 feet long and ranges in height from 38 to 40 feet. It holds back the earth that will support the building.

This isn’t just a simple wall. It has “tiebacks” that go deep into the earth and connect with drilled-in piers outside of the crater where the building will take shape.

The wall passed its first test earlier this year when an 18-story building that was encroaching on the site was imploded. The demolition went off without a hitch and the area under the building was subsequently excavated and tied back to complete the foundation of the DEC.

To read the full article on our client, Hardman Construction, click here!

Article written by Brian Mulherin of the Ludington Daily News.