Bristol Motor Speedway Media Tunnel Uses Precast Box Culvert

Bristol, TN, 2007

170 lf of 9’ x 8’ Precast Box Culvert

5 grade transitions and 2 stairway landings

Bristol Motor Speedway is a highly recognized sporting venue.  The Saturday night race in August is known as “the hottest ticket in NASCAR” with capacity having grown to 165,000 spectators!  When BMS makes alterations to the track, construction – like the cars racing on it – needs to move fast.  That’s why BMS has twice turned to Permatile to provide concrete precast improvements to the “fastest half-mile of racing”.  In 2001, BMS installed an 8 foot by 9 foot pedestrian tunnel in turn three of the track.  Existing track conditions made the site inaccessible by crane and the 222 linear feet of tunnel, which had two grade changes and a turn, had to be partially installed by forklift.  The use of a precast box culvert enabled the tunnel to be installed in just one day.  Accessible by golf cart, it allows spectators, workers, and drivers easy access from the driver’s staging area and parking lot into the center of the track.

In 2007, BMS began plans for a new media building behind turn four on the track.  They wanted a tunnel to move media personnel from the center of the track into the building.  Again, BMS contacted Permatile to provide design and fabrication of the precast box culvert for the tunnel.  The project couldn’t be started until the completion of the spring race and had to be completed by the start of summer race festivities, leaving a short window of time to complete all tunnel, grading and drainage work.  Permatile provided the concrete pipe and structures for the new infield drainage.  They also provided a 9 foot by 8 foot box culvert with a varying fill height of up to 8 feet.  It consists of five grade transitions including two stairway landings.  The use of a precast concrete box culvert enabled speedy completion of the project.  The 170 linear feet of precast box was set in two and a half days.  Versatility and durability of precast concrete products, the adaptability of the precast product to location requirements, manufacturer reliability and staying on schedule played a big part in the success of the newest addition to Bristol Motor Speedway!