Spruce Pine Feed Mill
Mar-Jac Poultry, Inc.
When Mar-Jac Poultry Alabama LLC decided to build a new feed mill to efficiently provide feed to poultry growers in the region, they strategically selected Spruce Pine in Franklin County, Alabama as the location for the expansion. The company used the same selective process in choosing an engineering firm for the $35 million project. CDG was tasked with designing a site with a 6,000-linear foot loading facility rail loop able to accommodate up to 100 rail cars, but the selected location provided serious design challenges. The rail loop needed to cross a creek which had nearly vertical canyon walls and almost 120 feet of vertical fill. The feed mill location also needed to be lowered approximately 30 feet to match the existing rail elevation. Mar-Jac was wary of moving forward with a bridge crossing the creek, so CDG proposed installing a 7-foot diameter polymer coated drainage pipe at the bottom of the canyon. The pipe could drain the site and withstand the overlying pressure of the soil backfill required to bring the rail crossing to the appropriate grade. CDG’s extensive site development background allowed for this alternative design approach to meet the client’s needs, get permitted and not deviate from the construction schedule.
Civil/Site Development, Geotechnical, Geomatics, Transportation
