The
placement of surcharge material across the project has been completed.
Since reaching this completion temporary seeding and straw mulch has been
applied to areas that will not be disturbed for an extended period of
time. Since surcharge placement has been reached, now the material will
do all the work. The surcharge (weight of material) along with the wick
drains (relieving subsurface pore pressure) is performing the consolidation
settlement of underlying soft clay soils. Significant settlement has been
observed already as indicated by settlement plates placed along the surcharge
material. A total of seven settlement plates are placed across the
surcharge to monitor the settlement amount and rate of settlement. These
settlement plates are monitored weekly. In addition to settlement plates,
the area observed to be settling the most, has a set of four inclinometers
placed around it to monitor for any lateral subsurface movement. Minor
subsurface movement is to be expected, but large amount of lateral movement
could be detrimental to the consolidation settlement process. The
consolidation of underlying soils needs to be vertical. The weight of the
surcharge and rate of settlement can affect whether vertical or lateral
consolidation is occurring, therefore we continue to monitor these
parameters. Once the settlement rate levels off and consolidation
settlement has been reached, the excess surcharge material will be removed down
to the proposed new roadway grade, and underground infrastructure improvements
such as water mains, sewer mains, and storm drain lines can be constructed with
firm foundations that will not settle over time.
Additional
work continues at the New Congress Street and General McIntosh intersection as
crews remove and replace curb, gutter, and sidewalk along General
McIntosh. Weather permitting, it is scheduled to have the eastern half of
General McIntosh from the Marriott entrance to just past the new Congress
Street complete before crews take some time off for the holidays.
A
separate crews continues to jack and bore a steel casing underneath the
railroad tracks and future Bilbo Canal, just south of President Street and west
of Truman Parkway. This crew is now installing the steel casing necessary
for the installation of a new 24” sewer main.
Construction continues on the new reinforced concrete Bilbo
Canal walls. The eastern inner Bilbo Canal reinforced concrete wall on
the south side of President Street should be complete by the end of the month.
This crew will then shift back over to completing the western inner Bilbo Canal
reinforced concrete wall on the south side of President Street. By late
January, this crew hopes to then move their operations to the north side of
President Street to begin the canal walls there.
A utility crew continues with the installation of new 24”
water main on the far east end of the project (east of Truman Parkway and south
of President Street). The installation of this new 24” water main is
close to connecting with a section that was installed earlier in the project
within a jack and bored casing. Once this is connected, this crew will
then begin work on the parallel 24” sewer force main which is to installed in
this same area.
