Southern Steel Engineers provided connection design, stair and rail design, and shop drawing review for this 2 million square foot tire manufacturing facility located in Clarksville, TN. The size and complexity of the project required extensive coordination across multiple structural systems and building areas.

Connection Scope
The design included a broad range of connection types, such as standard and non-standard shear connections, axial beam connections, vertical bracing, horizontal bracing, moment beam connections, and joist seat connections.

The main force-resisting system varied throughout the project, with some areas utilizing heavily loaded moment frames and others relying on large braced frames. Because framing conditions changed significantly from one building area to another, the project required detailed attention to unique load paths and connection geometries.

Joist seat connections were used in many locations to avoid column cap plates, which would have conflicted with adjacent bracing or axial connections.

Miscellaneous Steel Scope
The miscellaneous steel scope covered a wide range of stairs, rails, and ladders.

This included four multi-story exterior stair towers with grating infill and two interior roof access stairs, one over 200 feet tall and another over 70 feet tall, both designed as concrete-filled metal pan systems. Additional elements included 11 dock stairs, ramp rails, EOS rails and rails at openings, removable rails, and cast-in-place (CIP) stair rails.

The project also incorporated 16 mezzanine access stairs, most of which included intermediate platforms and concrete-filled pan treads. Twenty fall-arrest roof access ladders were designed, including several multi-story ladders over 60 feet tall with multiple platform levels. Roof crossover stairs were also provided, including configurations located at building expansion joints.