California, December 3, 2021: Legacy Foundations’ Mitigation Department has finished repairing three 36-inch diameter piles on the Cottonwood Creek Bridge Replacement Project for Tulare County, which required a two-part composite repair.
First, the crew hydro blasted the bottom two feet of each pile to allow access for the base grouting to begin. Once the piles were open, the crew faced a challenging task of converting the PVC test tubes into grout access ports to achieve the necessary volumes required. These ports needed to withstand 500 PSI for five minutes at each pile. There were eight ports total, for three piles. Then high-pressure grouting took place.
Then, during the traditional repair work phase, high pressure water at 13,000 PSI was used to remove any anomalous material, after which the team performed a secondary clean out. The team then performed a down-hole camera inspection to confirm that all anomalous material was removed. Finally, the team pressure grouted, placing grout through a packer held at 150 PSI for 5 minutes.
Additionally, the project has allowed the team the opportunity to work with numerous personnel from the county and the general contractor, Agee Construction, helping the department establish create new working relationships and contacts. The project’s schedule was extremely condensed, requiring 12- to 14-hour days, and extreme dedication from the team.
Congratulations to the Mitigation Department for completing this composite repair project so quickly!