Austin Road Project
Challenges:
Weather
The project was started in June of 2023 and from June through August the site received over 20 inches of rainfall. The significant rainfall severely hampered the ability to perform fill activities. In order to stay on schedule crews cut and stockpiled material, continually rolling and sealing the stockpiles to preserve the integrity of the material until ideal conditions allowed for placement.
Ground Conditions
Being in the Tug Hill region, the composition of the material varied vastly across the 11 acre parcel. Three different types of material were identified and sampled (sand, sand and gravel, gravel and clay) requiring different means and methods for fill activities. Additionally, all three material types were littered with cobbles and boulders ranging from one foot in diameter up to six feet in diameter. It was estimated that roughly 25% of the native material was made up of unusable cobbles and rocks. Crews screened every ounce of material installed using grizzly bar and skeleton bucket setups.
Topography
Since the project was cut into a mountainside, maintaining positive drainage while not impacting the surrounding wetlands on the lower side of the site was a constant challenge. The site was cut into the lower portion of the mountain and precipitation gathered from the above mountain and funneled to the station footprint. Multiple sediment traps and temporary diversion berms were created and maintained to reroute water to stay compliant with all article VII permitting requirements. In some locations 18” diameter silt sock pyramids were created and reached heights close to 4’ tall.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Station cut and fill of over 30,000 CY’s with some cuts exceeding 12 feet and fills for the access road in excess of 28 feet.
- 12,000 man hours worked on the project
- Started one month late and completed the project ahead of schedule.