Lowell Walmart Neighborhood Market

Project Overview

Emery Sapp and Sons (ESS) was selected as the civil general contractor to complete all dirt work, underground utilities, landscaping, site electrical and concrete paving for a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Lowell, Arkansas. The project marks Walmart’s first new construction in the Lowell area prior to 2020.

The scope of work includes roughly 9,882 linear feet of underground utilities, 7,819 linear feet of curbing, and 29,143 square yards of concrete and paving.

One of the crew's most significant challenges was a mass import job that originally required 40 days of work. Working closely with the city of Lowell, the quarry and local trucking, crews delivered roughly 500 dump truck loads of fill material each day for 14 days straight. The ESS team worked nonstop to place and compact material, directing traffic and equipment, completing the import well ahead of schedule while keeping the work from overlapping with the architectural general contractor's schedule. To maintain this pace, ESS crews worked six days a week for the first month of the project and now have transitioned into five 12-hour days.

Walmart consistently looks for the most efficient use of technology to deliver high-quality results. When deciding on how to construct the walls of the Walmart, Alquist 3D was selected to 3D concrete print all vertical walls for the market and the fuel station. This method was selected for its efficiency and environmental impact by delivering quicker and more cost-effective results.

Each of the walls are being printed on site by robotic arms that pour concrete in a loop every six minutes, from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. For every loop, the walls increase by 2 inches in height. Once completed, the walls will range from 10 to 12 feet tall.

ESS is proud to work alongside FMGI, the second general contractor on site. The ESS team has prioritized getting ahead of schedule to ensure its progress is not disrupting the work FMGI is performing. In return, both crews have pitched in to help each out whenever needed.

Much of the success of the project is thanks to the ESS crew. Brian King has excelled in his first role as site superintendent on a high-production job, and Paul Mayeux has done the same in his first job as a foreman. The pipe crews, led by Tyler Smith and Dustan Smith, have kept their crews moving and stayed far enough ahead that the project has not had a single down day waiting on utilities. Their efforts have put ESS roughly eight weeks ahead of schedule, with the remainder of the project set to conclude in May of 2027.