SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
American River Common Features, Sacramento River East Levee Improvement, Contract 4
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
USACE Sacramento District selected Maloney – Odin A Joint Venture (MOAJV) to construct 2.4 miles of levee improvements along the Sacramento River East Levee (SREL) within the City of Sacramento to address under- and through-seepage concerns. SREL Contract 4 was the last segment of the SREL to be reinforced and extends from Old Sacramento to Cliff’s Marina on the East side of the Sacramento
River. The SREL is critical infrastructure for protecting thousands of residents in South Sacramento, Elk Grove, and surrounding cities. The reinforcement of these levees upgraded the protective capabilities of the SREL to a 1-in-500-year storm.
The project scope required degrading five discontinuous segments of the existing levee, constructing various types of seepage cutoff walls, and reconstructing the levee with competent low permeability soil. Multiple construction methods were designed and specified to address the variety of subsurface conditions known to exist in this historical levee system. The jet grout segments vary from 70 to 140
feet deep and are 8 feet wide and total approximately 500 linear feet. The DMM segments are 45 to 80 feet deep and three feet wide and total approximately 1,800 linear feet. The contract also included 770 feet of seepage or seepage and stability berm construction and 1,600 linear feet of levee raise. Additional work items include constructing approximately 5,200 linear feet of buried curb wall to reduce seepage through the levee; relocation and removal of multiple levee encroachments within the work area; removal and replacement of City of Sacramento Sump 41; and removal, handling, import, and disposal of soils.
Odin was also responsible for maintaining all temporary facilities; implementing Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan requirements; complying with permit requirements and environmental mitigation measures; developing staging areas; coordinating with Agencies and stakeholders; constructing levee geometry corrections; researching, potholing, removing, and replacing existing utilities; protecting existing utilities; reusing excavated soils that meet specifications for reuse as levee fill; importing soil for levee fill; managing and disposing of excess excavated soils; and restoring and vegetating
disturbed areas.
Project Challenges and Innovations
- Completing construction within feet of an operating hotel required the construction team to install sound barriers and conduct an aggressive vibration monitoring program to ensure that the hotel foundation was unimpacted by the work. Further, construction hours were limited to mitigate the impacts of noise on hotel guests and workers.
- During construction of the test section of jet grout cutoff wall, unidentified sandy conditions resulted in sinkholes and voids appearing in nearby ground. Construction was stopped for safety reasons and sections of the project were reengineered to stabilize the sandy soils and protect the foundation of the immediately adjacent (within 5 feet) multi-story hotel.
- The USACE and its engineer, with input from the Odin team, including Odin’s technical experts and subcontractor personnel, reengineered the jet grout segments of the project to employ a single-fluid ground stabilizing method. Once the ground was properly stabilized via this additional step, Odin was able to successfully deploy the jet grouting construction method originally designed.
- At the Sump 41 area, existing pipes within the levee needed to be protected in place. Jet grouting was selected as the most effective method to install the cutoff wall around existing obstructions. Wooden debris, cobbles, and other material not identified in preconstruction borings was found. The encountered debris slowed production significantly by impacting drilling speed and rate and introducing deviations of the drill rig from vertical. Redrilling was required to ensure verticality and continuity of the cutoff wall in areas of deviation.
- Completing construction within feet of an operating hotel required the construction team to install sound barriers and conduct an aggressive vibration monitoring program to ensure that the hotel foundation was unimpacted by the work. Further, construction hours were limited to mitigate the impacts of noise on hotel guests and workers.
- During construction of the test section of jet grout cutoff wall, unidentified sandy conditions resulted in sinkholes and voids appearing in nearby ground. Construction was stopped for safety reasons and sections of the project were reengineered to stabilize the sandy soils and protect the foundation of the immediately adjacent (within 5 feet) multi-story hotel.
- The USACE and its engineer, with input from the Odin team, including Odin’s technical experts and
subcontractor personnel, reengineered the jet grout segments of the project to employ a single-fluid ground stabilizing method. Once the ground was properly stabilized via this additional step, Odin was able to successfully deploy the jet grouting construction method originally designed.
- At the Sump 41 area, existing pipes within the levee needed to be protected in place. Jet grouting was selected as the most effective method to install the cutoff wall around existing obstructions. Wooden debris, cobbles, and other material not identified in preconstruction borings was found. The encountered debris slowed production significantly by impacting drilling speed and rate and introducing deviations of the drill rig from vertical. Redrilling was required to ensure
verticality and continuity of the cutoff wall in areas of deviation.
• At the Sump 41 area, existing pipes within the levee needed to be protected in place. Jet grouting was selected as the most effective method to install the cutoff wall around existing obstructions. Wooden debris, cobbles, and other material not identified in preconstruction borings was found. The encountered debris slowed production significantly by impacting drilling speed and rate and introducing deviations of the drill rig from vertical. Redrilling was required to ensure
verticality and continuity of the cutoff wall in areas of deviation.
Project Highlights
• 9,251 CY levee excavation
• 22,412 CY levee embankment fill
• 126,737 SF DMM cutoff wall
• 49,745 SF jet grout cutoff wall
• 848 CY reinforced concrete curb wall
• 1,027 CY buried curb wall excavation
Project AWARDS
• 2024 Outstanding Geotechnical Project of the Year, awarded by the ASCE Sacramento Section
Project Details
START DATE:
March 2023
END DATE:
November 2024
VALUE:
$53.9M
