Roger Wheeler State Beach is one of Rhode Island's most heavily used state beaches, and its boardwalk sits directly on the ocean. That location drives everything about the design. Salt water and salt air attack reinforcing steel, and the structure had to be built to withstand the demands of a harsh coastal environment.
The Rhode Island Dept. of Environmental Management was seeking replacement of the aging boardwalk flanking the beach pavilion. The replacement had to carry heavy summer pedestrian traffic, meet ADA requirements across both stairs and ramps, and last for decades in a corrosive environment.
PermaTrak supplied treads only on this project. Cast-in-place concrete beams were used, so our scope covered the walking surface, the stairs, and the ADA-accessible ramps across roughly 600 linear feet, including several built-in overlooks and the central pavilion area.
We revised our system to address the oceanfront exposure: #1 The reinforcing steel was galvanized to address the salt water & salt air corrosion concern. #2 Tread thickness was increased to six inches to add concrete cover over that steel, putting more material between the reinforcement and the environment.
PermaTrak’s engineering team worked closely with the contractor and architect to blend factory produced precast concrete elements with the field built concrete beams and piles.