Project Highlights

ACEC/NC Engineering Excellence Award

The Carolina’s NFL Stadium was constructed on an approximately 33-acre site in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina.  S&ME was part of the consultant team that oversaw the design and construction of the stadium, a project that presented significant challenges because of the fast-track schedule mandated by the NFL. S&ME’s most notable contributions to the project were the foundation design recommendations and drainage systems design that garnered the Consulting Engineers Council Engineering Excellence Award for “engineering achievements which demonstrate the highest degree of merit and ingenuity.”

Specific services provided by S&ME included:

• Foundation design recommendations compatible with the unique geological conditions at the site, eliminating expensive rock excavation;
• Evaluations of seismic activity and data regarding abandoned mines that affected foundation design;
• Underdrain system design that was incorporated with a surface drainage system to meet the stringent NFL requirements for a playable field within one hour of a 7-inch rainstorm;
• Complex permitting applications regarding the impact of stadium traffic on air quality;
• Asbestos surveys, abatement design and contract administration preceding demolition of 15 buildings on the stadium site; and,
• Construction quality assurance control for concrete, steel placement, fireproofing, soils, pavements and masonry.

The stadium structure has 362 drilled shafts and 83 high capacity shallow spread footings supporting the elevated sections.  As a result of our design recommendations that maximized bearing capabilities of drilled shafts, rock blasting was not required during drilled shaft construction, avoiding a potential of thousands of cubic yards of rock blasting.  However, rock removal was required in a few drilled shaft excavations due to steeply sloping bedrock ( >10% ) and/or soft soil seams below the fractured rock surface found during inspection of the excavation.  This approach helped to reduce potential construction delays.

The stadium structure includes about 24,000 cubic yards (5,000 sections) of structural pre-cast concrete, about 4,800 yards of architectural pre-cast concrete (219,000 square feet) and about 65,000 cubic yards of cast-in-place concrete.  Reinforcing steel used exceeds 6,500 tons.  Over 100,000 cubic yards of cut and fill comprised the sitework and about three-quarters of a million masonry block have been placed.

As a key member of the consultant team, S&ME’s full range of professional services included: · subsurface exploration and foundation recommendations · groundwater dewatering system design · concrete paver design recommendations · organic vapor exposure evaluations · asbestos abatement management design specifications · asbestos air monitoring · disinfection testing of new water mains · soil fill density testing · waterproofing inspections · visual weld and bolt torque structural steel evaluations · precast concrete panel field weld connection evaluations · document sampling of root zone components – natural grass fields · monitoring installation of artificial turf practice field · masonry unit and component testing · drilled shaft construction inspection · seismic activity studies · pavement design recommendations · geotechnical consultation services · asbestos surveys · complex source permitting for stadium traffic · asbestos project management · concrete testing – field and laboratory · reinforcing steel – quality and placement inspections · post-tensioning inspections · groundwater control sub-drainage system inspection · monitoring exterior site utility construction · structural precast concrete joint sealant inspection · roofing evaluations · fireproofing evaluations