Geotech Instrumentation
Instrumentation of geotechnical instruments
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The Challenge
- MBTA’s $31.7M shore stabilization ongoing at Charlestown Bus Yard
- Project to bolster shoreline against coastal flooding
- Seawall to be topped with bike/pedestrian pathway for access to Sullivan Square and downtown Boston
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is working on a $31.7 million shore stabilization project currently ongoing at the Charlestown Bus Yard. When completed, the project will help stabilize the shoreline during coastal storms with flooding. The project became necessary when the shoreline along the Mystic River began caving in and eroding away due to these storms. Once the seawall is finished, a bike/pedestrian pathway located on top of the seawall will be constructed which will allow for easy access to Sullivan Square and downtown Boston.
TBD
The Solution
Geocomp was engaged as a sub-consultant to the prime contractor Middlesex Corporation to monitor deformations due to construction of a new embankment to replace a deteriorating sheet pile wall. Prior to the construction of the embankment, we installed several different types of manual instruments including deformation monitoring points, inclinometers, sheet pile monitoring points, and utility monitoring points. Each of these instruments were used as a redundant system to ensure the deteriorating sheet pile wall was not moving more than the allowable limits when construction activities began.
In addition to monitoring the sheet pile wall, Geocomp was tasked with monitoring the new embankment. It is located on top of soft soils within the Mystic River which were stabilized by the contractor with jet grout columns. Geocomp installed several automated extensometers and settlement plates beneath the embankment to monitor the vertical movement during construction and to ensure that actual settlements were kept within the specified limits. Geocomp also installed several strings of vibrating wire piezometers to monitor pore pressures in the Mystic River clays. All piezometers and extensometers were automated to allow project personnel to access data 24/7 through Geocomp’s iSiteCentral® data management system.
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