New Jersey is a diversified industrial region with access to the sea, railway links, a network of SMEs working with prestigious universities and a large consumer market. 

As multimodal hubs proliferate, Menard completed specialist works on the Metro Point Logistics Center in June 2016. The hub has two warehouses with 19,000 sq. metres and 8,000 sq. metres of floor area respectively, 56 loading docks and 208 parking spaces. 

The teams taking part in the project simultaneously applied three techniques: installation of Controlled Modulus Columns (CMCs), deep Dynamic Compaction and Rapid Impact Compaction (RIC). Six weeks of compaction work were carried out at the same time the CMCs were installed – a challenge that Menard successfully met. 

The teams adapted the technique to fit the area’s geological makeup and were thus able to optimise the budget and lead times. In the last innovation, standard penetration tests (SPT) using a penetrometer were supplemented with Menard pressuremeter tests, which are often carried out in Europe but are little used in the United States.