Reliance Foundry's Bollards Withstand Harsh Demands of Arizona Flood Plains

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Sep 09, 2012

In the spring of 2010, a Tucson area design consulting firm, Kimley Horn and Associates Inc., employed Reliance Foundry bollards in an application that would truly test their durability. The project proved to be a success and after two years in one of the harshest climates in the US, the bollards have successfully endured.

The Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation is approximately 15 miles southwest of Tucson. In November of 2009, the tribal council began construction on the Casino del Sol and set into motion a transportation management plan. Kimley Horn and Associates were contracted to design the project and they, in turn, hired the Hunter Guard Rail & Fence Inc. to install fencing and bollards in the area surrounding the casino.

Kimley Horn and Associates Inc. realized that this environment could pose a threat to the structural integrity of the bollards. Between July and September, the area surrounding Tucson often experiences high levels of rainfall. Locals often refer to this period as “monsoon season” and there was an expectation that the bollards would at times be submerged in water. Couple with that the fact that Arizona also experiences some of the hottest weather in the country and one will see the scope of the elemental strains that would be placed on the bollards.

Having dealt with Reliance Foundry before, Kimley Horn and Associates again turned to the industry leader to see if bollards could in fact withstand the demands of this application.

“I believe this was the first time that this was asked of our bollards,” says Reliance Foundry Product Manager Len Cranmore, “Surrounding any metal product with water can pose severe threats to its structural integrity and the extreme heat at other times would not help. With our top-grade material and proprietary coating system, I was confident that the bollards would perform though.”

The Reliance Foundry bollards did perform and after experiencing two “monsoon seasons” where water often surrounded the bollards, the Reliance Foundry bollards show no signs of surface damage and no signs of structural damage. Kimley Horn and Associates selected Reliance Foundry’s model R-7572 bollard for the project and, because of the harsh demands of the Arizona climate, specified that an additional layer of epoxy primer be applied to the interior of the bollard. The bollards have exceeded all expectations and experts say that it is due to the level of anti-corrosive protection that the Reliance coating system provided both the interior and exterior of the bollard.

Reliance Foundry uses a proprietary coating system to provide its bollards with anti-corrosive protection. All ductile iron bollards are coated with a one part epoxy primer and then finished with a polyester, semi-gloss powder-coating. Both the primer and coating are environmentally safe. In fact, the primer is often used in other applications to coat the inside of pipes that hold drinking water.

To withstand the harsh demands of Arizona’s flood plains, any product needs to be durable. After two years in a climate that was at times extremely wet and at other times extremely dry, the Reliance Foundry bollards used in this project look as good as they did on their installation day.

About Reliance Foundry Co. Ltd.

Reliance Foundry has been a family-owned business since 1927. Bollards are one of its main product lines, along with industrial wheels, bike parking products and investment castings. Reliance sources products globally and offers quick and convenient delivery in the United States and Canada from its Vancouver location.

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