Overcoming obstacles

Abstract

Despite poor soil conditions, a poorly configured urban site, and periodic flooding, the Greater Roanoke (Va.) Transit Company (GRTC) was determined to build a new maintenance and parking facility for their bus fleet in an area that needed new economic development. The project's structural engineer, Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, Inc., Roanoke, selected a steel framing system. Structural steel's flexibility with respect to both adverse geometry and varied loading conditions, along with its inherent weight advantages, proved to be a cost-effective solution. The basic gravity-load-resisting system consists of 3 inches-thick concrete fill on 3 inches composite steel floor deck in the office area, and an 8 inches-thick concrete slab in the shop area. Composite steel beam and girder construction is used in both areas for stiffness and economy. The basic lateral-load-resisting system consists of moment-resisting fixed frames. The paper describes foundation design along with the welded fixed-frame connections and precast concrete facade design.