Building Correctional Facilities with Strength and Efficiency: Amerimix Provides Solid Results for Construction of Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women

Words: Garen Graves



The Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), located in the heart of St. Gabriel, Louisiana, needed a complete rebuild after damage from a devastating flood in 2016. The inmates were relocated to other prisons from 2022 to 2024 while the series of new high-security buildings were under construction, putting pressure on the construction timeline to stay on track. In addition to these considerations, the project demanded strong, durable walls and ceilings that could withstand the test of time and the continuous threat of hurricanes and the Mighty Mississippi overtopping its banks. This made the decision to build with masonry and Amerimix, a high-strength, reliable mortar, a no-brainer.

The new LCIW represents a significant milestone in Louisiana's correctional system. This $150 million state-of-the-art facility spans across a 280,000-square-foot campus that includes a postpartum unit, administration building, medical and mental health services, dormitories for 938 inmates, educational and vocational buildings, a gymnasium, kitchen, and a maintenance warehouse.

The scale of the project was formidable, requiring over a quarter million concrete masonry units (CMUs) and a substantial amount of concrete, mortar, and grout. Masonry contractor DRP Masonry chose to partner with Amerimix, an Oldcastle APG Company, to simplify the logistics of mixing and application, ensuring a smooth workflow for the project's 90-member crew.

 

In line with typical prison construction practices, most exterior walls were erected as tilt-up concrete panels. In the dormitories and the majority of the other structures, the floors and roof systems are made of hollow-core panels. The vast majority of the interior load-bearing and non-load-bearing partitions are made of concrete masonry units (CMUs), solid-grouted using Amerimix products. These design choices were made to achieve exceptionally robust structures with the significant interior strength required for a prison application.

This project required a massive amount of material: over 3,000 bulk bags of grout and 1,000 bulk bags of mortar—over 12 million pounds in total. With material demands this large, every ounce of efficiency adds up in a big way.

“One of our biggest draws to Amerimix is you just add water,” said Titus Stowe, Project Manager at DRP Masonry. “That alone saves so much time, effort, and coordination by not having to worry about field mixing with sand or dealing with a cement truck. The pre-blended bags take a lot out of the material and labor costs.”

In addition to requiring high-strength grout and mortar, DRP needed a way to efficiently execute the construction process over the 30-acre job site.



“This is where the bulk-bag products shined,” said Stowe. “The ability to set up multiple mixing stations utilizing silos with 15,000- and 30,000-pound capacities made it possible for us to work on each end of the job site, on-demand, without relocating materials.”

Customer service and trust were also key considerations for DRP in selecting Amerimix for the project. According to Williams, close relationships and detailed coordination between the material manufacturer and the mason are essential for navigating the complexities of large-scale construction endeavors like LCIW.

“The relationship we have with Amerimix is an important factor. They answer the phone, they give us fair pricing, and we get really good service from our reps,” said Philip Williams, Co-Owner/VP of DRP Masonry. “We probably lay two million blocks a year as a company and 80% of that is using Amerimix,” added Williams.



Many of the women from LCIW were temporarily placed at the nearby Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. Timothy Wilkinson, a former inmate there, told the Baton Rouge Advocate that women are often overlooked because they are a small fraction of the 26,000 people in state prisons. "This is not just a new facility to add more people to prison," he said. "It's going to continue the steps and the growth that the department has taken to help make people ready to come back into society."

The construction of the women’s facility exemplifies the pinnacle of strength, efficiency, and security in correctional facility development. This state-of-the-art facility will better accommodate Louisiana’s incarcerated population and allow for improved security in the community and within the building itself. Learn more at www.amerimix.com

BIO
With over 20 years in the building materials and masonry industry, Garen Graves is the Amerimix Program Director at Oldcastle APG, and focuses energy in driving innovative products for an ever-changing industry. Beyond his sales expertise, Garen is deeply involved in national industry associations, where he contributes to shaping the future of building materials and masonry practices across the country.



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