Tractor Supply Company Saves Big With Concrete

In the past, concrete paving has been viewed as the “high cost” alternative to asphalt. That paradigm is changing and concrete has never been in a more competitive position on a cost for cost basis. Combined with concrete’s superior environmental attributes, the decision to select it as the material of choice is becoming easier.

An example of such a decision was evidenced during the construction of a Tractor Supply Company store located in Montrose, PA. The store, completed in 2009, not only features a concrete pad that functions as an equipment display area but also boasts a concrete parking area. A parking area that was originally designed to be constructed in asphalt.

When Master's Ready Mixed Concrete Vice-President Bob Housel became aware of the project, he contacted GEO Associates (the construction manager for the project) about the possibility of constructing the parking area with concrete rather than asphalt. Working in concert with the project’s eventual concrete placement contractor, Latcon Inc., a proposal for concrete was submitted.

As the discussion progressed, it was found that the concrete cost would be lower on an initial cost basis. The asphalt bid was $226,000 as compared to concrete’s bid of $205,661 (a difference of almost 10%). This was a surprise to the GEO project manager who was pleased that they had taken the time to consider the concrete alternative.

The concrete price was based on a 4.5” pavement section in the parking areas, and a 6.5” pavement section in the truck travel areas. Both sections were designed on a 6” aggregate base. The concrete design strength was 4000 PSI. Following more investigation on the sub-grade conditions, it was determined that the sections could be thinned slightly. The final pavement design had 4” of concrete on a 6” aggregate base and 6” concrete on a 6” aggregate base on the parking and truck travel lanes respectively.

Another important factor in the selection of concrete was the cost of regular maintenance. Sealing, re-striping and resurfacing, plus the expense of business lost due to downtime, significantly increase the life-cycle cost of asphalt. Providing the ability to maintain continuous business use during its long life, concrete pavement is the economical and dependable choice for businesses that depend on customer access.

The tool used for making this comparison is the Concrete Pavement Analyst (CPA). The software package, developed by the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, allows the user to make side-by-side comparisons between concrete and asphalt pavement sections and their associated maintenance costs.

The staff at the Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association is trained on the use of CPA and is available to demonstrate the product to your organization. Please contact us if you wish to schedule an appointment.

Remember: Concrete, It Just Makes Cents!