USACE Brandon Road Interbasin

Summary

Kaskaskia Engineering Group, LLC (KEG) was awarded an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantities (IDIQ) contract to perform geotechnical engineering services for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Rock Island District. The third task order was located at the Brandon Road Interbasin in Joliet, Illinois

Project

The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is located on the Des Plaines River immediately downstream of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in the City of Joliet, Illinois in Will County. A recommended conceptual plan was developed to control the upstream transfer of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) at the Dam. In addition to deterrents such as electric barriers, other features of the recommended plan include boat ramps upstream and downstream of Brandon Road Lock and Dam to provide needed access to the waterway for monitoring, utility installations to support the project, and buildings and other support facilities on either the right or left banks. This contract includes providing recommended design properties and construction considerations for proposed buildings, retaining walls, embankment fills, utility construction, trenches and tunnels, shallow and deep foundations, temporary excavations, construction dewatering, subsurface drainage, and other features related to the proposed support facilities.

KEG led a team of three other engineering firms and was responsible for overall project management and engineering analyses in all aspects of the contract. The project consisted of defining overall site geology and engineering properties of site soils and bedrock, and performing engineering analyses related to bedrock excavation, electrical conductivity, and grounding for a proposed electrical barrier feature. The team was also tasked with providing design recommendations for future structural features. The scope of work included facilitating regular progress meetings, providing interim reports, and preparing the final comprehensive report.

KEG oversaw the proposed work in three separate phases:

• Phase I Site Preparation – KEG’s contracting division, KEG Build, cleared the existing 1.4 acres of the peninsula of trees and brush and graded it level using imported crushed stone. They fully secured the area by installing a perimeter fence and security gates. They developed an approximate one-acre laydown yard and provided the field trailer for the project.
• Phase II Marine and Terrestrial Drilling and Rock Coring – KEG personnel oversaw and logged drilling of over 95 borings, including 9 Observation Walls installed through the walls of the existing lock and 27 borings in the Des Plaines River. River drilling involved using a barge and crane operation for movement within the river below the lock and dam. Phase II Geophysical testing consisting of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys and Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) for geophysical seismic analysis of the subsurface conditions and bedrock was also completed in the river and on the peninsula in conjunction with the borings.
• Phase III Comprehensive Reporting – KEG completed a feasibility study related to rock excavation in the channel, evaluation of site electrical conductivity concerns, and recommendations for engineering design properties for the proposed structures. Recommendations were based on interpretation of the geotechnical drilling and laboratory testing program, combined with geophysical testing to produce a complete picture of the subsurface soil and rock conditions in the river channel below the lock and dam and within the embankments of the proposed interbasin.