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Dec 14

December 14, 2015 Update

Posted on December 14, 2015 at 3:31 PM by Saja Aures

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.

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