DESCRIPTION

Redevelopment of an existing park included construction of three new cast-in-place cantilevered retaining walls to facilitate more than 35 feet of grade change leading to the Passaic River.

CHALLENGE

The project is located on a historic industrial site originally developed by Alexander Hamilton adjacent to the Passaic River and Paterson Great Falls. The site has a steep slope with topographic changes of over 50 feet. The soil test borings indicated the presence of deep uncontrolled fills, requiring the use of either ground improvement or a deep foundation system to support the retaining walls.

SOLUTION

Ground improvement methods were originally considered for foundation support, however the substantial changes in grade at the site required a system that could easily access the varying working grades. To limit the amount of undercut required and achieve increased bearing pressures where needed, the project team selected GeoStructures to provide foundation support. Ductile Iron Piles (DIPs) were installed to extend through very loose to medium dense fill and loose to dense sand to terminate by setting on rock. Piles were designed to deliver working capacities of 40 tons. The project was completed on time and under budget.