It may be cold now, but last summer, with peak temperatures reaching more than 103 degrees in Utah, the QUIKRETE Companies specially modified the set time of its FastSet™ DOT Mix to provide extended working time during the installation of taxiway lighting at Salt Lake City International Airport.

Allstate Construction Inc. used 150 cubic yards of the pre-extended mix to fill 1,200 linear feet of taxiway and runway conduit trenches. The specially modified FastSet DOT Mix extended working times between 45 minutes and an hour while also achieving a compressive strength of 3,000 psi an hour after setting and 10,000 psi after 28 days.

Workers dealt with temperatures topping the averages by more than 10 degrees in Salt Lake City, where the average high during the months of July and August is 93 degrees and 91 degrees, respectively. On July 23, the thermometer at the Salt Lake City Airport hit 104 degrees, matching a record set in 2003, according to the National Weather Service.

Beginning in July 2006, the project utilized a low-profile QUIKRETE Mason Mix dispensing silo mounted on a trailer and a portable hydraulic mixer on a skid-steer loader. The upgrades to the airport were completed at the end of August.

"Facing record-breaking temperatures and the need to prevent airport slowdown caused by construction, the QUIKRETE was able to respond directly to our needs," said Mark Ebert, president of Allstate Construction. "The QUIKRETE FastSet DOT Mix provided a smooth transition between repairs and actual reopening of taxiways. As with any airport, the main order of business each day is getting planes back into the air."

Salt Lake City International Airport typically is ranked in the top 10 U.S. airports for on-time departures by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Serving more than 20 million passengers a year, the airport ranks as the 23rd busiest in the United States with more than 300 daily departures to 71 non-stop destinations.

QUIKRETE FastSet DOT Mix is a rapid setting repair mix specifically designed to meet ASTM C928 Category R3 specifications for a high-performance repair material. In addition, the FastSet DOT Mix meets DOT Region 3 requirements. Used as a patching material for commercial applications, the mix is available in pre-extended and non-extended versions.