How many concrete trucks does it take to make an Eli Lilly and Co. foundation?

Aug. 26—The first foundation at the Eli Lilly and Co. Lebanon plant will be poured in October, and the scale of the project is unprecedented in this area.

The gene therapy building's foundation will require 590 truckloads, 5,600 cubic yards, of concrete. And it must be delivered as a continuous, 24-hour pour, Ken Weerts Lilly director of operations and engineering, told Boone County Commissioners. A continuous pour will allow greater strength than making the foundation in sections.

The foundation floor will be 20 feet below grade level, three feet thick for the majority, and five feet thick around the perimeter, Weerts said.

The result will be a building that will "float like a boat," if power fails and the water table rises, Weerts said.

But the demand for that volume of concrete in one pour resulted in an unusual schedule to prevent conflict with the concrete companies' other work. Pouring for Lilly will begin after the plants close Oct. 21, a Friday, weather permitting.

Trucks from Lebanon, Frankfort, Crawfordsville, Whitestown and Westfield plants will drive to Lebanon. That means about 42 trucks per hour will travel through the intersection at County Road 300 North and Witt Road during the peak of the pour, about the 14- to 16-hour mark.

The property is divided into two parcels listed as LP1 and LP2.

LP1 is the larger portion and is roughly bordered by C.R. 450 N. and C.R. 375 N., the CSX Railroad tracks to the east and Interstate 65 to the west. It will be home to about a dozen buildings that include two for peptides production.

Peptides are short chains of molecules containing two or more amino acids. Peptides join together to form protein. They are often prescribed to treat serious illnesses including diabetes, cancer and autoimmune conditions, Lilly Associate Vice President Jennifer Massey told the plan commission.

LP2 is roughly bordered by C.R. 375 N., C.R. 300 N., Witt Road, and I-65. That campus will house the building dedicated to smaller cell and gene therapy manufacturing.

Lilly broke ground on the $3.7 billion plant in April, and earthwork began with mass grading and soil conditioning, Jeff Wagner, Fluor senior public affairs manager, said. Fluor is Lilly's general contractor.

Sub-contractors have since reshaped the 600 acres, and are adding two storm water retention ponds and 72" concrete drainage tile. Construction will begin on buildings incrementally, as grading is completed in a particular area, Wagner said.

He expects test pilings to be poured for the peptide building, using an advanced method, this month. Concrete will be injected into the piling hole as a drill removes soil. About 8,000 pilings will be poured throughout the site.

Local residents won't get a close look at the foundation work but may notice a berm of up to 14 feet tall being built around the property. The berm will be planted in trees, shrubs, and other plants to screen the complex from the road. A fence will go up around the property's perimeter for security this fall, Wagner said.

A worker parking lot is visible from Witt Road at C.R. 375 N. Boone REMC has installed temporary power lines. And trailers that will house administrative services and employee training classes are expected to begin arriving and be situated near the parking lot starting in September.

Lilly and Fluor engineers and contractors presently work from two houses that were bought for the project and use a pole barn on one property to house work trucks and equipment.

About 150 men and women work on the site at present, and a total of 900 are expected to be there by year's end.

The trailers will also house break areas and food service for an estimated 3,000 to 3,500 employees expected to work at the site over the next couple of years. Providing food service on site is important. Workers won't overwhelm Lebanon's streets at lunchtime if lunch is brought to them, Wagner said.

Fluor is looking for local caterers and restaurants to provide food service, just as it is seeking local construction crews, service providers, custom printed items and other goods.

Fluor will host a Boone County Business Partnering session via Zoom with the Boone County Chamber of Commerce from 10-11 a.m. Sept. 12.

Anyone with questions, or who is interested in providing goods and services to Lilly or Fluor, may email to info@lpgrowsboone.com, call 866-574-7697, text LPConstruction at 91896, or visit the website at lpgrowsboone.com.

Fluor representatives send flyers to neighbors and go door-to-door to keep them abreast of changes at the worksite, Rae Hostetler, who provides local community relations support for Fluor, said. They even produce a newsletter.

To subscribe to the newsletter, email to Info@LPGrowsBoone.com, call 866-LP-GROWS (574-7697), email to updates/Web: LPGrowsBoone.com, or text to LPCONSTRUCTION to 91896.