Our Projects

Surveying, environmental, and materials professionals provided services for this high-profile project necessary to fill and stabilize voids in both the earthen portion and karst bedrock foundation of the high hazard Wolf Creek Dam on Lake Cumberland

Project Details

CIVIL ARCHITECTURE is supporting Louisville MSD’s Consent Decree program by providing the geotechnical field exploration and construction observation for a 20-million-gallon, 449-FT x 207-FT x 49-FT underground CSO basin beneath Shawnee Park in Louisville, Kentucky. During wet weather events, untreated wastewater and stormwater are captured by conveyance pipes and stored in the basin rather than flowing into the Ohio River. When the rain subsides, and system capacity is available, the mixture of wastewater and stormwater will be pumped back into the sewer system. At that point, the water is conveyed to a water quality treatment center, treated, and returned to the Ohio River. When completed, the project will be largely invisible to the public and will enhance not only the water quality of the Ohio River, but also the quality of one of Louisville’s premiere parks.

The structure, including a wet well, pump station, operations building, and three CSO diversion structures, were designed on a mat foundation with columns supporting the roof slab. Auger-cast piles were utilized to resist uplift forces. Steel sheet pile walls with tie-back anchors on multiple levels were utilized to provide both temporary and permanent excavation support. Cast in place concrete walls formed the sidewalls of the structure and the annular space between the sheet pile walls and sidewalls were backfilled with sand from the basin excavation.

CIVIL ARCHITECTURE geotechnical field exploration consisted of seven soil test borings, two with rock core extending 30 feet into bedrock each. Each of the soil test borings were drilled to the depth of auger refusal or to a predetermined boring termination depth. In addition, two piezometers were installed to depths of 65 feet. Laboratory testing consisted of unconfined compressive strength testing, gran-size analyses, and hydraulic conductivity testing.

Improve safety, reduce accidents, and add capacity were AEI’s primary goals for the Shiloh Road at Shiloh Crossing intersection project. During concept development, AEI deliberated two options to meet the project objectives and to be within the overall Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) project budget, including: (1) a roundabout, and (2) a traffic signal with dedicated turn lanes. The roundabout was chosen over the conventional signalized intersection since a traffic signal did not meet warrants. The project was funded from 100% local SPLOST funds and converted a 3-way stop controlled intersection with an offset church driveway into a combined single-lane, 4-legged urban roundabout.

North American Stainless (NAS) used an unloading dock constructed in the mid-1990s on a site along the Ohio River to facilitate incoming raw materials. The dock was constructed with anchored Z section sheet pile ranging from 32 feet to 70 feet long. Anchor rods located at 19 to 25 feet below the top of the sheet pile wall were anchored to a sheet pile deadman system and connected to the upstream and downstream walls. Backfill material consisting of fine to medium grained river sand was placed behind the wall to construct the dock.

NAS experienced a major dock failure along the Ohio River when flood waters receded, causing high water pressures behind the sheet piling that snapped the steel tie-backs along a 100-ft length of the dock, causing the sheet piling to lean significantly toward the river and thus causing the concrete dock slab behind the sheeting to collapse vertically as much as 10 feet.

Several geotechnical analyses were performed for this project. A seepage analysis was performed to determine the minimum depth necessary to prevent groundwater infiltration through the subgrade into the basin. For the portion of the wall below the sheet pile wall, the lateral earth pressure imparted by the soil between the walls was calculated utilizing the theory proposed by Spangler and Handy for fascia walls adjacent to a stable rock face. The lateral pressure on the fascia wall is a function of the weight of the soil between the walls and the coefficient of friction between the soil and two walls. For the sheet pile wall a Rankine earth pressure analysis was performed assuming active conditions. For the basin and pump station walls “at rest” conditions were assumed since those walls were not free to rotate due to the restraint at the top of the wall. Bearing capacity values were derived for the sands beneath the basin and the near surface material for the various structures. Buoyancy forces were calculated for the basin assuming it was completely submerged and void of water.

Various submittals were presented to AEI for review during and subsequent to construction. Sheet pile wall designs were submitted and reviewed by AEI and other members of the design team. When found inadequate, additional support was added to account for discrepancies. Other submittals include modifications to the backfill between the sheeting and basin wall, compaction methods (flushing and jetting vs vibratory compaction), modification to the bearing capacity at the pipe support, auger cast pile installation, updating proctor and classification data, as well as other submittals.

Construction Date

October 2018

Construction Location

Albuquerque, Australia

Construction Location

$ 150,167,900

talented individuals

with passion

weaving analysis to ensure proper traffic flow throughout construction. Phase II roadway and structural design also had to accommodate the widening of I-65 through the project area.