Client Name: Loews Cineplex, Elizabeth, New Jersey

The Loews Cineplex site is bordered by the Newark Bay to the East and the New Jersey Turnpike to the West. The location of the site was a former landfill, of which a portion was recently developed into a New Jersey mega-mall. Lowes Cineplex selected the site to build a state-of-the-art model movie theater. Edgeboro International, Inc. was retained to construct the environmental controls necessary to protect the building from methane gas being produced from the underlying land­fill.

Edgeboro International Inc. constructed an under slab ventilation system and methane vapor barrier con­sisting of over 25,000 feet of HDPE pipe and fittings, 7,000 tons of stone at final fine grade and 110,000 sf composite Geomembrane vapor barrier layer.

EII’s construction commenced following the erection of the steel structure. Utilizing five separate union crews, EII coordinated construction schedules with other building contractors on site while installing the various phases of the methane collection system. EII was required to leave the sub base systems within one half of an inch of final grade to allow the concrete contractor to follow immediately behind the methane collections system installation.

The methane collection system was designed as an active system to circulate and extract air from under the concrete floor of the Cineplex, eliminating the possibility of methane gas migrating into the building from the landfill.