Its latest transformation came through a multi-phase project aimed at improving accessibility, enhancing fan experience, and creating modern amenities — all while preserving the timeless character of the original structure.

Precision Concrete Construction, Inc. partnered with Turner Construction Company, HOK, and Walter P. Moore to bring these improvements to life, delivering innovative concrete solutions under tight timelines dictated by the college football season.

Phase 1: Widening Corridors and Improving Access

Phase 1 of the south side improvements was completed in 2023, just in time for the kickoff of the Bulldogs’ football season. A key focus was easing congestion along the 100-level corridor, where pedestrian flow had long been restricted to just nine feet. By demolishing a CMU wall and reconfiguring restrooms and concessions, the walkway was expanded to 21 feet, dramatically improving circulation for fans on game day.

The team also installed cast-in-place walls and multiple elevated slabs at different elevations. These additions created new plazas, restroom facilities, and TV truck parking areas, as well as improved wheelchair-accessible seating. Achieving these upgrades required innovative approaches, such as designing shoring systems to span over existing shotcrete walls and dealing with steep grades sloping toward a creek beneath the stadium.

Despite the challenges, Precision Concrete poured 4,000 cubic yards of concrete and placed over 500 tons of reinforcing steel in this phase, completing the project on schedule. The work earned the 2024 ACI of Georgia Award for excellence in concrete construction.

Phase 2: Club Spaces, Media Facilities, and Modern Amenities

With the Bulldogs finishing their 2023 regular season on the road, crews were able to mobilize early for Phase 2 of the project. This phase built on the foundations established in Phase 1 and introduced new features that brought Sanford Stadium into a modern era of fan amenities.

Three elevated, conventionally reinforced slabs were installed to support three new levels of structural steel framing. Among these improvements was the creation of a high-end donor “club” at midfield above level 200. This exclusive space offers large contributors to the football program private bathrooms, televisions, and heating elements for an elevated game-day experience.

The project also expanded media facilities, extended suites along the south bowl, and provided space for additional corridors and concessions. During construction, UGA made the decision to begin selling beer at football games. To accommodate this change, the team quickly adapted the design by adding topping slabs, a CMU wall foundation, and reinforced support for concession-area coolers.

In total, Phase 2 required 3,500 cubic yards of concrete and 173 tons of rebar, as well as 12,000 square feet of elevated cast-in-place slabs and 14,000 square feet of slabs on metal deck. This work earned the 2025 ACI of Georgia Award, marking back-to-back recognition for the Precision Concrete team’s craftsmanship.

Preserving History While Building for the Future

One of the defining challenges of the Sanford Stadium improvements was maintaining the character of the nearly century-old venue. Each decision balanced modern needs — such as ADA accessibility, expanded restrooms, and luxury donor amenities — with a respect for the stadium’s heritage.

Working in an active facility with a history of renovations spanning nine decades, Precision Concrete also had to navigate countless unforeseen conditions. By leveraging the versatility of concrete, the team adapted quickly without compromising schedule or quality.

A Game-Changing Result

Thanks to the coordinated efforts of Turner Construction Company, HOK, Walter P. Moore, Argos Ready Mix, and Precision Concrete Construction, Sanford Stadium is now better equipped to welcome more than 90,000 fans on fall Saturdays. Wider concourses, enhanced restrooms, improved accessibility, expanded suites, and new donor spaces all contribute to a more enjoyable and modern game-day experience.

Most importantly, the improvements demonstrate the adaptability of concrete in complex, fast-tracked projects. From challenging site conditions to last-minute program changes, concrete proved to be the material that made it all possible — ensuring that Sanford Stadium remains both historic and state-of-the-art for years to come.

The post Precision Concrete Plays Key Role in UGA Sanford Stadium Improvements appeared first on Precision Concrete.

While the finished product is spectacular, the construction journey presented a series of unique challenges. Precision Concrete Construction, Inc. played a central role in overcoming them, ensuring the project was completed safely, on time, and within budget.

Overcoming a Remote and Challenging Jobsite

The resort’s location proved to be one of the greatest obstacles to construction. Perched 2,000 feet above sea level near a cliffside, the site was both difficult to access and exposed to colder-than-average temperatures. Steep ramps leading to the jobsite had to be regraded and soil cemented to withstand weather and traffic. Without these modifications, workers and equipment would have required four-wheel-drive vehicles to access the site.

Adding to the challenge, the resort’s footprint intersected with both a hillside and active golf course play areas. Large rock formations needed blasting and removal to establish deep shear foundations, while Precision’s crews often navigated material deliveries around golfers teeing off on the course’s first hole. Despite these logistical hurdles, the team’s close coordination with the general contractor, New South Construction Company, kept the project moving forward.

Innovation in Design and Construction

The design-build nature of the project meant plans evolved as construction progressed. Approximately 25% of the hotel’s structural drawings were incomplete at groundbreaking. Precision Concrete worked closely with the design team to adapt in real time, including accommodating a major change — the addition of an entire lower-level floor midway through construction.

To support this added level, Precision built a 16-foot-tall retaining wall stretching over 700 feet, creating terrace access to outdoor amenities such as a pool and bar area. When foundation loads required additional stability, the team coordinated with Keller North America to install deep rock anchors, ensuring the new structures were securely tied into the limestone bedrock.

The project also utilized two steel framing systems simultaneously: 60% heavy structural steel for public areas like restaurants and amenities, and 40% light-gauge steel for guest room floors. This hybrid approach allowed trades to work concurrently, saving both time and cost.

Creative Solutions for Concrete Challenges

In total, over 8,000 cubic yards of concrete were poured on the project, including 2,200 cubic yards of lightweight concrete for elevated slabs. The use of lightweight aggregate helped reduce structural loads, which in turn minimized steel and footing sizes — an especially important savings given historically high steel prices during construction.

Supplying this specialized material presented another challenge. The lightweight aggregate was shipped from over 350 miles away in North Carolina, and local plants had limited capacity to store it. To accelerate the required saturation process, Precision and its partners developed an inventive solution: submerging the aggregate in unused concrete truck drums. This cut the soaking time from three days to just one, preventing costly delays.

Further efficiency was achieved by substituting traditional steel wire mesh with macro synthetic fibers in slabs. This value-engineering decision eliminated heavy material handling, simplified installation, and saved the client time and money.

Safety and Collaboration at the Forefront

Safety was a top priority throughout the project. More than 40 Precision employees contributed nearly 40,000 work hours without a single lost-time incident. Daily stretch-and-flex sessions not only promoted worker safety but also boosted morale and encouraged other trades on site to participate. Supervisors ensured all workers maintained OSHA training requirements, reinforcing a culture of safety.

Equally important was collaboration. Weekly coordination meetings with the contractor and other trades allowed teams to anticipate challenges, adjust schedules, and resolve issues quickly. This cooperative spirit extended beyond Precision’s scope of work, with crews often assisting in tasks such as smoothing walls for waterproofing to ensure client satisfaction.

Award-Winning Results

The McLemore Resort & Hotel has already earned recognition for its excellence in construction. The project was honored with a First Place Award at the 2024 AGC Build Georgia Awards and the 2024 ACI of Georgia Outstanding Achievement Award in the Low Rise Buildings category.

Despite the cold weather, difficult terrain, and evolving design, Precision Concrete’s commitment to innovation, safety, and teamwork made this project a resounding success. Today, the resort stands as both a luxurious retreat and a testament to what can be achieved when challenges are met with collaboration and creativity.

The post Precision Concrete Helps Bring the McLemore Resort & Hotel to Life appeared first on Precision Concrete.

The Story Behind the Georgia Gold Rusher

The Gold Rusher’s concept comes from a fascinating chapter of Georgia’s history: the gold rush of 1885. As part of the rustic-looking “Lickskillet” section of Six Flags Over Georgia, the ride and its surroundings need a low-key, bucolic look, but the Gold Rusher itself is a high-tech piece of work, delivering a combined roller coaster and water ride experience.

The backstory behind the ride is that it’s a machine designed to simultaneously till the soil for gold and give people a refreshing way to beat the heat. Turning that idea into a real roller coaster meant designing a 590-foot U-shaped track that takes riders across a reservoir of water at up to 60 miles per hour.

The track reaches a maximum height of 144 feet, allowing it to provide the stunning drops of a full-size roller coaster alongside the cool thrills of a water ride. The seats are unique: “Free-spinning gondola seating” means two circles of riders face outward on rotating platforms, all mounted on a gondola.

This mixture of coaster and water ride elements is the first of its kind. Visitors to the park will have never seen any ride quite like the Georgia Gold Rusher. Bringing it to life was an exciting challenge for Precision Concrete and our partners, and the effort paid off, winning an ACI Georgia award.

The Georgia Gold Rusher is the winner of an ACI Georgia First Place Award in a special category, demonstrating the innovation that went into the highly collaborative project.

Precision Concrete’s Role in Building the Gold Rusher

The team assembled to build the Georgia Gold Rusher included leaders across categories. For our part, Precision Concrete has had a hand in the majority of new rides at Six Flags Over Georgia through the past 30-plus years, a major point of pride due to our Atlanta roots.

On this particular project, our partners included familiar faces from our past Six Flags projects:

• Spivey Industrial Contractors served as the general contractor.
• Argos Concrete was the concrete supplier.
• Glynn Group Engineering & Architecture PLLC designed the coaster.

The concrete work for the Gold Rusher involved a 2,300-square-foot splash pit 8 feet deep. To support the large steel columns needed for the roller coaster elements, we installed 48-inch thickened concrete slabs. There is also a surrounding 50,000-gallon decorative pool, which needed radius walls in an oval shape.

The station pit is another 8-foot-deep pit, this one nearly 1,400 square feet in total. To hold the ride’s heavy mechanical components in loading and unloading zones, the slab in this pit measures 70 feet long, 16 feet wide and 48 inches deep.

The foundations of the ride are 14 feet square and 4 feet thick, with auger-cast piles to support them. They support 54-inch-square, 6-foot-tall reinforced piers with large-diameter anchor bolts in a circle pattern.

Creating the rustic walkway involved concrete poured with wood-patterned stamping with a dark gray release to match the “Lickskillet” area’s overall natural style.

Despite the intricacy and novelty of the project, work proceeded quickly and smoothly. Through effective planning, a strong team mentality and an outstanding workforce, the coaster moved from a bold idea to award-winning reality over a short timeline.

The post Precision Concrete Helps Bring the Georgia Gold Rusher to Life at Six Flags appeared first on Precision Concrete.