Along Highway 66 in Mankato, Boulderscape replicated Blue Earth County’s cast-in-place chiseled-block walls in sculpted shotcrete — 39,420 square feet of structural and architectural shotcrete hand-finished as Blue Earth Chiseled Block, delivered in 52 days at 82% below traditional construction.
Record Installation Time
Savings Over Alternatives
Wall Square Footage
For Blue Earth County's Highway 66 project, the original soil nail wall design called for cast in place chiseled block construction. When the shoring contractor approached Boulderscape about replicating the appearance with sculpted shotcrete, on site mockups demonstrated that the same architectural character could be achieved at a lower cost and in less time. Boulderscape then hand carved a Blue Earth Chiseled Block finish across the wall system and individually stained each block to match the original cast in place design.
The project encompassed 39,420 square feet of wall surface, consisting of an 8" structural shotcrete section with an average 2.5" architectural relief over a soil nail wall system using a 5,000 PSI mix design. By transitioning from cast in place construction to sculpted shotcrete, the project saved the owner more than $200,000 while significantly reducing the construction schedule. The entire scope was completed in just 52 days. See our sculpted shotcrete process or explore more shotcrete finishes.
Installed structural rebar and forming, with an 8" thick concrete layer, topped by a 19" cap and a 1" - 3" architectural layer with a chiseled block face, stained to match nearby blocks.
Blue Earth Chiseled Block
Goldenrod
2.5"
Soil Nail Wall
5000 PSI
Warmer climate. No additional additives were added to the concrete mix.
