Project Maple - 1.25M SF Distribution Center

Project Maple/DC 7842 is a 1.25-million SF Walmart distribution center designed to accommodate 300,000 square feet of expansion space.  This facility opened in March 2019 and provided for the relocation of Walmart DCs 7 & 8, which were both moved to make way for the new Walmart Home Office Campus project.  The site sits across Regional Airport Road (Arkansas Hwy 12) from Walmart DC 6094, which is another CEI project.  CEI’s role for DC 7842 included the full gamut of CEC services from concept planning and due diligence investigation through construction. There were a few challenges with this project, including earthwork, highway improvements, and the need for a USACE permit for filling in a water of the US.  It’s always challenging to make a site balance given rolling terrain and the need for an excessively large, flat building; however, CEI worked with the GC to achieve a balanced design.  Next, Walmart want to install a traffic signal at the truck access point, as it aligns with the existing DC 6094 across Highway 12; however, the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) determined that the new drive did not warrant a traffic signal.  CEI worked with our traffic consultant to try a new approach using the passenger car equivalent for trucks to determine the traffic counts.  ARDOT had never considered this option, but our team was successful in convincing ARDOT personnel to approve the signal warrant.  CEI overcame the third challenge by obtaining a USACE Nationwide permit in less than 40 days.