Core Drilling and Permeation Grouting
The Argonne Road Bridge in Spokane Falls, Washington consisted of two merged spans, one built in the 1920’s and one in the 1970’s. Strong currents in the Spokane River had caused erosion around the bridge footings, and a study commissioned by Spokane County found that it would cost more to repair the scour damage and mitigate future damage than to completely replace the bridge. The County opted to replace the bridge with a new wider span.
Team Members
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Brierley Associates
Northwest Cascade Inc.
Kinsel Industries Inc.
Converse Consultants
Contri Construction Company
Crux Subsurface
Crux’s Role
Crux provided core drilling and permeation grouting for the deep tunneled crossing alignment. As positional control of the borehole was paramount, optical survey tools were employed on a regular basis and directional drilling technologies were used to steer the borehole in the proper direction.
Crux core drilled and permeation grouted one 750-foot borehole for the south shaft, extending northward to the mid-point of the tunnel. The rock quality was generally good and Kinsel commenced tunneling. Crux then moved to the north shaft and began drilling southward. Poor rock quality and significant water infiltration were encountered between 200 and 600 feet. Kinsel authorized additional coring and grout coverage in this zone. Crux employed directional drilling technology to treat the specific zone without unnecessary drilling in more competent portions of the alignment. This reduced the overall time and cost required to complete the project.
Directional drilling was used to avoid unnecessary drilling and grouting in the more competent portions of the alignment
