Sustainable Innovative Solutions

When repairs are required on many of Ontario’s highways, the Ministry of Transportation requires repair work to be done at night during an eight-hour time window so that the highway can be reopened for the start of the morning rush hour. This challenging task requires an innovative solution that achieves design strength in less than four hours. A concrete mix design meeting these requirements was developed by Holcim Canada through its ready-mix division, Dufferin Concrete. The concrete mix design is called "Fast Track" and uses high performance cement, controlled temperature water and precise proportions of set accelerating admixtures.
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Enviroguard is an innovative, self-contained ready-mix truck chute wash-out system that effectively eliminates concrete chute wash water from being released into the environment. Dufferin Concrete is the only ready-mix concrete supplier in Ontario to have outfitted its entire fleet with this innovative environmental solution. Enviroguard addresses an industry wide environmental issue of disposing off chute wash water in a safe, cost effective and eco-friendly manner.
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Rapid Bridge Replacement Technology is a construction technique in which the new bridge sections are built in an adjacent staging area while the existing bridge sections remain intact and carrying public traffic until the new sections have been fully prepped to be moved into place. Once ready, the old sections are removed and recycled and the new sections are transported into place with the use of Heavy Lift Transporting Equipment. Dufferin Construction and the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario made Canadian history in 2007 being the first to utilize this technology in Canada when the Highway 417 overpass over Island Park Drive in Ottawa was replaced.
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A new class of cement called Portland-limestone cement (PLC) is manufactured by Holcim (Canada) Inc.’s cement plants in Mississauga, Ontario and Joliette, Quebec. PLC has strong environmental and sustainable construction benefits. Manufacturing PLC generates significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions and up to 10 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions. These reductions are achieved as up to 15 percent of the clinker used to produce regular Portland cement is replaced by limestone.
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Pervious pavement is a special type of high porosity pavement used where applications require water from precipitation and other sources to pass directly through. It helps reduce runoff from a site and allows groundwater recharge.
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