815-416-1000UCP Holiday 2025 Newsletter
Wishing all of our customers & industry partners a Happy Holiday Season!
What a year 2025 has been for Utility Concrete Products! From exciting new projects to major milestones achieved, our team has made remarkable progress. Check out the highlights of the year below in this newsletter to see how we’ve grown, innovated, and delivered excellence across every project.
Highlight of the Year
ASBI Bridge Award of Excellence
We’re proud to announce that Utility Concrete Products played a key role in a project recently recognized with an American Segmental Bridge Institute (ASBI) Bridge Award of Excellence – one of the highest honors in segmental concrete bridge design and construction.
The CTA Red & Purple Modernization (RPM) – Lawrence to Bryn Mawr Modernization (LBMM) project in Chicago, IL was selected in the Mass Transit/Rail Bridges category as a standout example of innovation, efficiency, and excellence in precast concrete segmental construction.
Shown below are key members of the team involved in the project accepting the award at the 2025 ASBI Convention and Committee Meeting, including our own Pat Larson (President) and Tim Gile (RLE Construction Manager).
Check out more photos of precast segmental bridge construction here
Project Spotlight
Architectural Precast with Lasting Appeal
A major expansion of the Elk Grove Village electrical substation is boosting transmission capacity and enhancing system reliability across the growing northwest suburban business corridor and the Western O’Hare region. This investment supports existing customers and accommodates energy growth driven by the region’s expanding data center demand.
As part of this effort, UCP provided an architectural precast security screen wall along the substation perimeter, enhancing site security while creating a visually appealing presence within the community. The wall features custom precast panels and columns with a brick formliner and a specially developed color blend.
Spanning approximately 500 linear feet, the wall includes special-height panels measuring 10′-4″ tall, requiring a fully customized solution. Close collaboration with project partners ensured the panels met both the aesthetic vision and the functional security needs of an active utility facility. Construction sequencing was carefully coordinated to maintain safety, access, and ongoing operations, allowing seamless installation without disrupting substation functionality.
This project highlights our expertise in delivering custom architectural precast solutions on complex, high-profile sites. By combining design flexibility, precise attention to detail, and strong teamwork, we continue to provide durable, visually refined wall systems that meet the evolving needs of utility and infrastructure clients.
Click here to view additional photos
Heavy-Duty Airport Solutions
With the ongoing demand for electrical infrastructure, we rise to the challenge, consistently producing custom pieces tailored to our customers’ needs. Over the past year, a wide range of manholes designed to house electrical cables and equipment were supplied to both O’Hare and Midway airports.
One standout project was a specialty manhole weighing 100,000 pounds and measuring 15’ x 15’ x 9’. The sheer size of this unit made production a complex undertaking, from fabrication to handling and transport. But for our skilled production team, no challenge is too great. Through careful planning, precise engineering, and teamwork, the manhole was successfully manufactured and delivered to meet the project’s unique requirements.
Projects like this highlight our expertise in tackling complex, large-scale precast solutions, combining strength, precision, and reliability for critical infrastructure projects.
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Full-Depth Slabs, Faster Construction
As part of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority’s I-294 Corridor Bridge Improvements, full-depth precast approach slabs were used to accelerate construction and improve long-term performance at the bridge approaches.
Each of the 10 slabs was built to ISTHA standards, with the heaviest piece exceeding 77,000 pounds. Custom formwork was required to stagger exposed reinforcement in the keyway, which was filled with ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) to create a strong, durable connection between slabs. Because of their size and weight, delivery and installation required careful planning. Close coordination with the installing contractor and ISTHA management ensured overweight and over-width transport went smoothly and that each slab arrived ready for efficient placement.
Using precast elements instead of traditional cast-in-place methods reduced on-site work, minimized traffic disruptions, and kept the project on schedule along this busy tollway corridor. Give us a call to see how precast can save time on your next project’s schedule!
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Engineering Innovation for Rail Expansion
As part of the Norfolk Southern Chicago Rail Expansion, ELEVATE Infrastructure delivered a highly specialized counterfort retaining wall system engineered to withstand extreme railroad loading within a constrained urban rail corridor.
While counterfort systems have been used successfully on prior rail-adjacent projects, the loading demands at this site exceeded previous applications. To meet these challenges, the team developed a first-of-its-kind base slab configuration, featuring an integrated shear lug connection designed to safely resist the high forces generated by railroad traffic.
The system includes five precast counterfort units and matching base slabs, spanning just under 60 feet, with individual counterfort elements rising 17′-6″ tall. Each component was engineered to deliver long-term performance under heavy rail service while remaining constructible within tight right-of-way constraints.
As the precast manufacturing partner, Utility Concrete Products (UCP) supported fabrication and handling of these large structural elements. Installation required exceptional precision: each counterfort unit included pre-assembled reinforcing cages threaded into mechanical couplers cast directly into the precast, creating a challenging but highly effective structural connection.
This project underscores the evolution of ELEVATE’s counterfort retaining wall system, demonstrating its ability to adapt to higher loads and more complex applications while providing reliable, buildable solutions for critical rail infrastructure.
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