Blacklidge Emulsions announces acquisitions

Blacklidge Emulsions Inc. of Gulfport, Miss., recently announced the expansion of its operations.

• Lease of full service facility in Chickasaw, Ala., containing 158,000 barrels of asphalt storage, barge, rail, truck and laboratory services
• Construction of an asphalt modification plant and full service emulsion facility in Chickasaw, Ala.
• Acquisition of existing asphalt modification plant and associated equipment of Flexphalt LC in Tampa, Fla.
• Acquisition of Douglasville, Ga., emulsion plant from Central Oil Corp.
• Construction of an asphalt technology center in Gulfport, Miss.
• Joint venture state-of-the art laboratory in Chickasaw, Ala.

These acquisitions and leased facilities will strategically enhance Blacklidge Emulsions supply position and expand the company’s marketing ability for rubber modified asphalt and emulsion products.

Burns Cooley Dennis gets Grand Conceptor Award

For the third consecutive year, Burns Cooley Dennis Inc. of Ridgeland, Miss., received the Grand Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies-Mississippi (ACEC-MS). 

The 2007 Grand Conceptor award was given for the U.S. Highway 61 landslide project at Signal Hill in Vicksburg, Miss. BCD received the award, the highest honor given by ACEC-MS, during the annual ACEC-MS Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet held at the Capital Club in Jackson.

Repair of the landslide was classified as an emergency due to the threat of road closure and the probability of accelerating movement if left unattended. An earthen berm was recommended for stabilization of the slide due to the simplicity of construction and ease of developing plans. 

BCD was retained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation to assist in the field and laboratory investigations, with the evaluation of alternative remediation techniques and to prepare the detailed design of the recommended stabilization system. 

BCD recommended and engineered a permanent ground anchor/buried anchor block stabilization system to remediate the problematic landslide. More common methods of slide stabilization were rejected because of cost and conflicts with site constraints.

“The ground anchor/buried anchor block system is a unique and cost-effective method for slide stabilization,” said BCD Principal Eddie Templeton. “It can be used in areas where limited right-of-way and/or topography preclude the use of conventional stabilization methods and in cases where stabilization forces need to be evenly distributed over large areas.”