Project Highlights

An Engineering Excellence Award Winning Project

S&ME, Inc., provided geotechanical engineering services that include a subsurface evaluation and recommendations for a 15-story hotel, conference center and parking deck in Cherokee, North Carolina. Initially, another testing agency was awarded the construction materials testing contract. The Asheville, North Carolina office of S&ME was contacted when the client decided to replace the first materials testing agency due to a lack of confidence with that agency. At that time, the hotel superstructure was approximately 30% complete, the conference center was 60% complete, and the parking deck was 80% complete. S&ME was contracted to provide construction materials testing for cast-in-place concrete, grout blockfill, masonry cement, soil fill and aggregate base material. In particular, S&ME personnel would verify size and placement of reinforcing steel and evaluate the steel structure as it was erected. S&ME would also monitor the tensioning of the cable tendons in the post-tensioned slabs for the hotel. Additionally, S&ME provided fireproofing and roofing inspections, as well as observing tests of sprinkler, plumbing and electrical components.

Difficulties with placement and alignment of the reinforcing steel during the early stages of construction (before S&ME joined the project) had inspired the structural engineering firm to post a representative on site full-time. S&ME provided two full-time metals technicians for the project in addition to a materials technician. One metals technician monitored erection of the steel structures at the conference center and a pedestrian skybridge between the new hotel and Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, and the other metals technician monitored construction of the cast-in-place columns and post-tensioned slabs in the hotel. Approximately four weeks after S&ME began monitoring construction, the structural engineering firm felt confident enough with S&ME personnel to remove their own representative from the site.

S&ME also provided a mobile lab for on-site testing of concrete placed in post-tensioned elevated slabs so the contractor could apply tension to the tendons in the slabs as soon as possible.

Presently, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino is constructing an addition to the casino and S&ME will provide all of the construction materials testing services on this project, including monitoring soil-nail wall construction and micro-pile foundation system installation.