US Wick Drain of Leland North Carolina recently completed the world’s largest marine barge wick drain installation…over 12 MILLION linear feet. The wick drains will allow timely consolidation of marine sediments supporting dikes for the new Craney Island Port in Norfolk, Virginia. The equipment was installed with APE wick drain installation machines through steel pipe-lined holes in the barge. Engineers predict 21 feet of settlement once the wick drains are preloaded. [Source: APE News via National Driller. Image: APE News (Backus Aerial Photography)]
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Voids Open as a Result of Tunneling Under Seattle’s Beacon Hill
The Seattle Times (hat tip to ASCE SmartBrief) has reported that seven voids have been discovered above the Beacon Hill Tunnel with one opening up at the ground surface. The tunnel is being constructed by Sound Transit, the area’s transportation agency as part of a roughly $2.6 billion (yep, billion) light-rail project connecting downtown Seattle with the University of Washington and SEA-TAC airport. The voids were a result of running sand pockets in the otherwise stable clay units that were encountered by the tunnel boring machine or TBM. These voids migrated up like a chimney with one reaching the surface, almost 160-ft above the tunnel. This void was apparently 21-ft deep and opened up in a resident’s front yard and could have easily swallowed her up as she noticed it while gardening. The other voids were discovered at a depth of 20- to 65-ft below the ground surface. More after the break. (Illustration from Seattle Times)
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German town sinking after drilling operations
The historic town of Staufen in southwestern Germany on the western edge of the Black Forest is experiencing some rather unexpected downward movement these days. Several buildings, some of them historic, are experiencing cracking and distress and are still sinking at a rate of approximately 1mm per week. Investigations are underway, but everything seems to point towards drilling operations for geothermal energy which were conducted last fall. [Editor] More after the break…[/Editor]