Crux was contracted to provide design and installation of thirty-four micropile foundations for fifteen structures to support new tubular steel poles.  Foundation variety consisted of eleven H-frame structures and four 3-pole structures.  Four of the foundations ended up being Type-B foundations where Crux did not encounter bedrock.  Site 3/48 had nearby exposed rock, however the team drilled to a depth of 50’ and did not encounter rock.  The site needed to be reengineered on-the-spot to support the new geology, and Type-B micropiles were installed.

Because of the rugged landscape it was determined to utilize human external cargo (HEC) as a means of transport for field crew.  This project also involved a traffic control site and required helicopter to bring in material.  Crux had a fly yard at the top of the ravine and had to truck up material to the fly yard from the base of the ravine.

Within one week of mobilization, the Camp Fire started outside the city of Chico and burned 400,000 acres.  Additional challenges included hiking on steep 40–50-degree sloped terrain, heavy poison oak flora and drilling into hard sloped rock.  Furthermore, the project encountered extensive weather delays which included low cloud cover, high wind gusts, 100-degree temperatures and rain that impacted the project schedule.

Overall, all micropiles were successfully installed, proof tests completed to ensure capacity, and no safety incidents occurred utilizing HEC.