With the machines we had, we couldn’t have poured that 84” barrier wall.” Derek Commander, owner of Command Construction chose to upgrade his fleet by purchasing a Power Curber 7700 Multipurpose Slipform Machine in Spring, 2018. Prior to the purchase, Command used a competitive multipurpose slipform machine for barrier work but that machine couldn’t handle the massive mold required for 7’ variable barrier wall. Derek declares, “The 7700 has been a tremendous value to our company. Going on a high-profile job like that, everyone was looking at us and our machine. We came out smelling like a rose.”

This two-year, $70 million design/build project by the Louisiana DOTD served to expand I-10 in Lafayette. The focus was a 4.5-mile corridor growing from two to three lanes in each direction into the existing median. The road was aging and growth necessitated its widening and full-depth replacement. Average daily traffic values within the corridor were 62,000 vehicles in 2015, and 93,000 are projected by 2035. Command’s $10 million portion of the job contained 25,000’ of 54” variable barrier, 7,000’ of 84” variable barrier, 8,000’ of 32” bridge rail, and an additional 2,000’ of assorted barriers. Much of the barrier required a first pass with a specialized mold for reinforced barrier foundation. Command used their new 7700 for all of the slipform work on the project with several different molds. Scott Kuepferle, Project Manager explained that “the 7700 runs very well, it produces the product that we need.”

The job wasn’t without challenges. Command had 24 people dedicated on site for seven months. Several thousand feet of transitions at bridges, pier protections and light poles had to be handformed. Frequent drainage slots added a lot of finish work and the LaDOTD changed mix designs in the middle of the project. The low-speed torque hubs on the 7700 were critical for Command as they allow operating speeds as slow as one foot per minute.

Derek explained “on the tall wall we could go as slow as we needed with the mix design.” Perhaps the greatest challenge of all was the nature of the center barrier wall. Since the project was expanding into the median, variable barrier was required for most of the concrete median. The highly-adaptive mold and machine were a perfect fit, Derek announced, “we love the 7700, it’s very versatile.” Command Construction already owned two machines from Power Curbers Companies, a 5700-B for curb and gutter and a Power Paver SF-3000 for their mainline paving. The machines aren’t the only highlight though, Derek adds “service has been tremendous.

They have done a great job. We’ve had zero issues and the machines are making a lot of money for us.” Scott backs that up when describing the 7700, “Support’s been excellent, they’ve been Johnny-on the-spot. The machine cut 3-4 months off our timeline. It was worth the investment. We are very satisfied.”

Derek and his wife Kelly Commander began their business in 2002. They have 180 employees and are opening a third office in Covington, LA. Existing locations are in Metairie, LA and Baton Rouge, LA. Command services the entire state of Louisiana with concrete paving, sewer drain and water management work, box culverts, curb and gutter, barrier, and other slipform concrete work. Following the I-10 job, they have a paving project planned for their 7700 with a width of 13’ and another median barrier job with 54” wall.