Sugar Creek Station, Charlotte, North Carolina

by Rosa Soto | 1 January 2020 12:00 am

Two types of perforated metal wall panels are layered onto a pedestrian bridge at Sugar Creek Station, which is on the Blue Line Extension of the Charlotte Area Transit System. To meet requirements for a non-sprinkled building, the pedestrian bridge needed a minimum 50% of its perimeter to be open. At the same time, transit patrons needed weather protection. To meet both requirements, Neighboring Concepts PLLC specified perforated panels.

For the upper outer layer of the assembly, ProClad Inc. installed McNICHOLS Co.’s 68% open, 0.063-gauge, perforated metal panels with 1/4-inch by 1 1/2-inch rectangular slots. For the inner layer, ProClad installed McNICHOLS’ Airline Panels, perforated 58% open, in 0.125-gauge metal. The inner layer of panels functions as a drainage plane and fall protection, being exposed directly to pedestrian traffic over the rail line.

The project also utilized McNICHOLS’ perforated metal panels with a variety of different sized round, staggered openings. In all, 5,000 square feet of panels with a two-coat PVDF, Kynar 500 finish were installed.

Building a project that spanned an active freight and light rail transit line required special considerations and detailing methods. The entire bridge was fabricated adjacent to the rail lines, and set in place with a single crane pick.

The wall assembly system was required to be built on grade, adjacent to the project site, as no work could be completed above an active freight railway and transit line.

The project was awarded the Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Carolinas Chapter, for innovative construction techniques and responding to the site constraints and materials requirements.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/projects/sugar-creek-station-charlotte-north-carolina/

---