Built for speed

from Building Bermuda 2021

Bigger Barn

Built for speed – and local pride

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The National Sports Centre has seen two significant projects completed recently, putting Bermuda’s premier sports facility in world-class condition. The cantilevered roof over the 2000-seat grandstand required urgent maintenance, as the harsh realities of being so close to the ocean was leading to inevitable rust and deterioration.

Michael Kirkos, civil engineer at Brunel Engineering Ltd., explains that the grandstand was built in the late 1990s, and no maintenance had taken place since then. He says the roof framework consists of 21 trusses and structural members spanning between the trusses to support the roof deck. The trusses are fixed to concrete posts with long hold-down bolts anchoring the roof structure in place.

“The column posts receive uplift and

download forces under wind conditions. The trusses connect to the post via a baseplate and six 1-inch diameter bolts,” Mr. Kirkos says.

The baseplates and bolts were showing signs of heavy corrosion. The steel truss members also exhibited corrosion.

Mr. Kirkos also says Brunel designed the remedial works, and SunRise Construction Ltd. carried out the rectification work.

The proposed remedial works involved removing all rust from plates and anchor bolts using sandblasting and strengthening baseplates as necessary. It also included the replacement of all bolt nuts. A two-part paint system was applied to all structural elements, including a surface-tolerant epoxy primer and final coat, both of which were suitable for hand or spray application. This paint system

is frequently used for offshore platform applications.

The second phase of the project was work on the trusses, “and that was quite a challenge,” the engineer says. “After the scaffolding was built, SunRise Construction Ltd. sandblasted the steel, applied a base coat followed by the final paint.”

He says the most difficult part of the process occurred during the sandblasting and painting. In both cases, there needed to be low humidity and fair winds for the work to proceed. “Some days were good, but there were days we had to stop. One day, despite the protective curtain erected around the active area, a light dusting of paint carried to the cars in the parking lot, and the contractor had to rectify that. To prevent a recurrence, SunRise Construction elected to apply the paint by hand in the future.” Brunel had to ensure the right thickness was applied evenly throughout the truss.

With the scaffold in place, Brunel was able to identify areas where corrosion needed remediation. In these areas, repair works to the trusses were designed to ensure they would remain structurally sound for the future.

Another challenge was the stadium being used for events. Usually, this could be accommodated by securing the equipment safely. However, Bermuda qualified for the CONCACAF Gold

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Cup. Because these were high-profile international events with television coverage, it was decided that the scaffolding should be removed and taken away from the site, so that it wasn’t visible, then reassembling it after the event was finished. This added time for the project to be completed.

Also, for the Gold Cup, minor projects around the eastern side of the facility were completed. This included painting the bleachers, buildings, and gates and making cosmetic upgrades and plumbing in the restroom facilities.

Another major project was resurfacing the 400 m track ahead of the Carifta Games. Craig Tyrrell, National Sports Centre’s SVP operations manager, says, “There were some issues due to wear and tear, but instead of patchwork it made sense to resurface the track once we knew we had to make changes due to redefined relay exchange zones.”

Beynon Sports Surfaces Inc. first laid the surface in 2000/2001. It was contracted to update the surface and used a self-levelling, poured-in-placed system that eliminates minor deviations in the substrate to achieve a full chemical bond to the old surface. To prepare the site, Strike Force Construction raised the outer perimeter concrete base, and Ornamental Ironworks also redid the inside metal perimeter to allow for the new height of the track. The whole process raised the track by 8 mm.

Mass Limited and Strike Force Construction helped redo the long-jump pits by addressing the concrete perimeter and metal grates, respectively.

The track was power-washed to remove sand and grit embedded into the surface. Polyurethane was then poured on the old surface, and then the granules were dispatched by shovel until the desired levels were achieved. Mr. Tyrrell says, “This was a laborious job, and with weather irregularities, took a little longer than originally estimated.”

“We had an option of keeping it all red,” Mr. Tyrell adds. “Or making it two-toned. We decided to add the blue, as it visually helps the runners and officials easily identify the relay exchange zones.” He says that refurbishment is not yet complete, as ongoing projects are being addressed to improve the overall experience for users of the facility. Q