National Park Service, Facility Manager, John Ford, contacted us in the fall of 2004 in regards to replacing the boardwalk system at the White Sands National Monument Park in Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Prints were submitted to us, but turned out to be too inflexible for a boardwalk through sand dunes, and were over engineered. We came up with a solution that offered individual leveling for each section, which resulted in a customized system that easily adjusted to landscape, with a 68% reduction in cost.
Case Study: White Sands National Monument’s Boardwalk Project in 2004
The 1,000-foot long, 5-foot wide boardwalk plan was approved in October and delivered completely in January 2005. Mr. Ford worked closely with us on all aspects of the project, from basics to specialty wedge units, turnouts, gazebo, and ramps. The boardwalk was engineered, and certified to meet ADA/UBC live load standard at 100 lbs. per sq. ft.
In addition, the material needed to be corrosion resistant to fine gypsum sand, and calcium sulfate, and be able to withstand high levels of sunlight UV radiation, sustained wind, abrasion, rain, and weather. Aluminum was the ideal material. Lastly, the boardwalk was designed to be maneuverable, with ease of disassembly and reassembly to relocate as needed.
After the delivery of three semi loads of parts, Fab Masters sales manager spent several days at the site with Mr. Ford and his installation crew to confirm proper assembly. The assembly went well, first assembling the individual units, and then hauling them out into the park on a trailer with a tractor.
When the assembly was complete, Ron Troxell, president of Fab Masters Company, Inc., visited the project to ensure customer satisfaction.