Unalam Glulam at the Mt Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sliding Track

Unalam supplied custom glulam members and laminated roof decking for the Olympic sliding track at Mt Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, New York.

Mt Van Hoevenberg has been central to American sliding sports since North America’s first bobsled track was built there for the 1932 Olympic Winter Games. The venue also hosted the 1980 Games. Today, its one-mile combined bobsled, skeleton, and luge track features 20 curves and is recognized as one of the world’s most technically demanding sliding tracks.

For this project, Unalam fabricated and supplied 137 custom Southern Yellow Pine glulam beams and assemblies in five configurations. The primary members measured 10½ inches by 25½ inches, with the largest assemblies extending approximately 52 feet.

Unalam also supplied 8,560 pieces of decorative Southern Yellow Pine laminated tongue-and-groove roof decking for Curves 1, 4, 10, 14, 17, and 19. The package included nominal 4×6 and 5×6 decking with a V-groove profile, totaling more than 227,000 board feet.

Shop fabrication included detailed end cuts, drilled holes, daps, steel connections, and other precision work required to fit the track’s complex geometry.

For more than 130 years, Unalam has built a reputation for taking on large, complex, and highly customized glulam projects. From 173-foot glulam beams for the Downsville Covered Bridge and the 172-foot Cobun Creek Bridge to the 126,000-square-foot Groton Hill Music Center, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, and an installation at the Venice Biennale, Unalam’s work can be found in some of the most distinctive structures in the United States and beyond.

The Mt Van Hoevenberg Olympic sliding track continues that tradition. It is another example of Unalam’s ability to manufacture large-scale glulam systems for demanding projects with national and historical significance.