Construction Update: Bulletin 7 - Change this value to a strong SEO phrase

Construction Project Update Bulletins are provided by the Refinery Terminal Fire Company (RTFC) for the construction of the new Fire Station and Administrative Building Project (I-37 at McBride Lane). The updates are meant to be a source of information for the Manchester Addition and Dona Park residents and property owners as well as surrounding businesses, municipal and county representatives and RTFC member companies.

These Bulletins are available online at www.rtfc.org/construction, by email (upon request), at St. Theresa Catholic Church (1302 Lantana) and the Local Emergency Planing Committee office for the City of Corpus Christi (2406 Leopard Street).

Construction Update

We don’t have a lot to report in this Update Bulletin. The continuing wet weather has pushed our work schedule back a bit. We anticipate a completion date for the administration building to be some time mid-April and hope to move our office staff and management team into it at the beginning of May. The fire station won’t be completed until later. We have not yet established what that date will be.

Separation Fence

We’ve been asked again about the strength and design of the separation fence (also referred to as a screening or privacy fence and ‘the wall’). This prefabricated concrete construction includes 36” diameter concrete piers which were placed 16 feet into the ground and reinforced with vertical and cylindrical steel. It was designed to withstand wind load pressures developed by a 120 mph wind velocity, 3 second gust, Exposure C, with an importance factor of 1.15 and meets all City codes. As reference, a Category 3 hurricane has sustained winds of 111-129 mph.

While the screening fence was not required to be designed to withstand an explosion by building code, the short duration of pressure from a blast is similar to what may occur during a gust of wind in a hurricane event, with the exception that frequency of gusting wind velocities typically extend for a longer duration in a hurricane.

Based on the design of the screening wall, it would perform much better than existing surrounding fences, storage units, and buildings that were not designed and built to windstorm requirements, which would show visible signs that an event
had occurred.

The final work to the screening fence will be done closer to the fire station completion date and will include texturing and painting. There will also be work done to level the ground between the fence and the chain link so that lawn
equipment can maneuver on a level ground.

What’s Next

Corpus Christi Community Advisory Council
Thursday, February 12 | 11:30 AM | Flint Hills Resources, 1925 Tuloso Rd.
Topic: City of Corpus Christi