Some random views of the CDSM shoring wall work. Eventually, a total of 860 shoring wall shafts will be drilled and 860 soldier piles dropped. Each of those soldier piles is actually two 60 foot sections welded together. No wonder that pile of steel was so high !
Late this year, the CDSM drilling equipment was demobilized for a few months. While most of the CDSM shoring wall work was completed, there was still some remaining shafts to be drilled and filled crossing Beale, Fremont, and First Streets. But that work is not scheduled until next spring, so the equipment was sent offsite for a few months. I guess the leasing price for that period of time is more than the cost of demobilizing it temporarily and then bringing it back again later. The fellow that you see in this photo is someone I saw nearly every time I visited the site over the last few months. As the equipment was being taken apart, I had the chance to chat with him at the fenceline. He told me that he figured he had been involved with about 75% of the shoring wall shafts, overseeing the drilling, ensuring (with a bubble level !) that the soldier piles were plumb, and that the overall alignment was straight and true. That 75% of 860 shafts and soldier piles ! He also told me that it was taking 26 flatbed truckloads to haul off the 2 triple-auger drilling rigs and the two large cranes.
I told him that I hope I can chat him up again when he returns to finish the job next spring, drilling across the 3 remaining streets that bisect the site.
I also had a chance early on to chat with the Japanese man you see in this photo. Apparently he travels to various locations where the drilling rigs are used, ensuring that the whole “deep soil mixing” process is done correctly. He is the one I originally teased about concerning the use of a old-school bubble level to check for plumb as the 120-foot soldier piles are dropped. He told me that they do not have to be super-accurate at this stage, only ensuring that the piles to not kick back into the excavation side of the perimeter. The actual interior walls that will be poured inside the shoring wall will make use of much more sophisticated measures to ensure their accurate placement and alignment.
The workers really do a great job of protecting adjoining buildings, keeping the streets and sidewalks clean, and minimizing the impact of the project to others.