Project Overview
Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee devastated the area surrounding the Capital of New York, including Schoharie County and received rainfall in excess of 10-15 inches. The Platter Kill Stream was affected. This resulted in areas where stream slopes failed and collapsed into the waterway. This project consisted of a mile of stream reconstruction and bank stabilization. The work included water diversion, excavation, embankment installation of instream grade control structures, construction of stone buttress area for slope stabilization, and construction of crib walls.
CHALLENGE
Throughout the reconstruction of the stream, our team faced several obstacles. We were required to dewater the entire work area. The rugged terrain on the jobsite limited the access available. Construction of crib walls proved to be challenging as well, since the crew had to salvage the proper on-site wood in order to construct them. Construction of grade control structures had small tolerances and were designed to be made out of stackable stones that weighed between 5-7 tons.
SOLUTION
In order to adhere to the environmental permits, our team used two, 12-inch pumps with approximately 2,500 feet of fused 18- inch HDPE pipe to pump the stream around the work zone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To address the egress issue, we strategically placed only three access points on the project with a construction yard at each end. This allowed 70,000 tons of various types of stone material to be hauled through the dewatered creek bed and over temporary crossings to reach the final place of installation. The crib walls were created from logs that were gathered from the clearing operation. These logs were stored on-site and cut into the proper lengths to meet the design specifications. Stackable stone delivered to the site was measured, labeled, and sorted by our crews. During the reconstruction of each structure, elevations were gathered and each stone was specifically selected based on its size to meet the final design elements.
RESULT
Due to proper planning, strategic thinking and the ability to manage well, our team successfully tackled every obstacle that arose throughout this challenging project. With all of the repair work done, we were able to mitigate future flooding and damage to residential and municipal land.
