Secure Piers LLC of Fort Collins, Colo., aims to change the way highway signs, high mast light poles and sound walls along highways are anchored. Its newly patented product, Helipost™ , is a hollow steel cylinder with steel shaft and blade that screws into the ground.

"We're much faster than concrete caissons, averaging 15 minutes each once drilling starts," explains Aaron Fodge, Secure Piers spokesman. "Depending on soil conditions, a construction crew can install 20 to 40 piers in a day."

For sound walls, structural and geotechnical engineers start by determining the project's soil conditions and combine this information with the specific project's wall length and height. Technicians at Secure Piers load these factors into a mathematical model that indicates the appropriate size Helipost to use on a specific project.

To date the company has designs for 50 sizes. A Helipost has a 12-inch to 24-inch-diameter zinc galvanized hollow steel cylinder that varies in length from 4 feet to 20 feet. The pier has a double-strength steel shaft extending from the end plate through the can, where it extends 3 additional feet to the 8-inch to 14-inch-diameter helix blade. The bottom of the can has a mouth and cutting edge so soil fills the cylinder as it's screwed into the ground.

A torque motor mounted on either a skid-steer loader, or a trackhoe for a larger Helipost, screws the Helipost into the ground approximately 6 inches below grade. Then the construction crew bolts the pole or I-beam for sound wall panels to the inch-thick steel base plate.

This foundation system offers many benefits, according to Fodge. The small-scale skid-steer loader installation allows access with minimum encroachment onto private property. Texas DOT is considering this method for a sound wall project where access is severely limited. Because the soil fills the cylinder during installation, construction produces no soil spoils to remove.

While concrete caissons need to cure up to three days, by contrast the Helipost foundation is available immediately upon installation. The construction crew will install the first two piers and run a lateral load test to verify that the piers will perform as planned in the site soil conditions before installing additional piers.

According to Fodge, concrete prices vary by state. The Helipost prices are competitive with concrete caissons and very competitive once labor costs are accurately computed. A big advantage is the piers can be removed and re-installed for temporary traffic signs or temporary walls. Also, the piers can be easily installed through groundwater, a condition that significantly increases the cost of concrete caissons.

Since Secure Piers partners with manufacturers to produce Heliposts, the cylinders are available nationwide. Although some state DOTs have requested inventories to have on hand for sign erection, most Heliposts are produced just in time and delivered to construction sites no more than five days before installation, according to Fodge. Currently the company management is working with state departments of transportation to include the product on specifications so it can be used as an alternative foundation to concrete.

"We have had contractors value-engineer us into the project by saying, 'We have a product that will save us time, money, labor, insurance costs, and traffic control costs,'" says Fodge.

Secure Piers is currently designing a Helipost system for a 23-foot-high sound wall with 20-foot post spacing and a 150-miles-per-hour wind load in Florida. The company has also passed muster with testing for the city of Aurora, Colo. Howard A. Perko, Ph.D., P.E., a Helipost patent holder, is a professor of engineering at Colorado State University and a principal in Secure Engineering of Fort Collins. The piers have been four years in the development stage and have been available for the past eight months in the field. The company is investigating using the piers to support metal buildings that have earthen floors, such as prefabricated barns. Another potential use is supporting components of intelligent traffic systems.

Additional information may be found at www.securepiers.com.