|
|
Hunter Field Pilings
(from evaluation report) |
Engineer says OK for now, remediation for erosion is needed Division Superintendent Candace Brown was last week provided a structural evaluation from engineers saying, based on an observation earlier in August, the foundations of the metal bleachers “should adequately support the metal bleachers when in use.”
The professional opinion from Draper Aden Associates next states a disclaimer, saying, “Our opinion is based exclusively on the conditions observed during our site visit, and we cannot guarantee future stability based on the unpredictable nature of erosion progression.”
The Aug. 24 Draper Aden report came through County Administrator Travis Quesenberry, who had requested the evaluation from county-contracted engineers. See the evaluation report here.
The engineering evaluation was based on its site visit to Hunter Field on Aug. 11.
Very importantly, the evaluation goes on to make the following remediation recommendations:
~ Stormwater runoff from the school board building area and elevated grade northwest of the bleachers should be diverted to limit further erosion beneath the bleachers. If runoff continues to erode areas within the footprint of the bleachers, the pier footings could be undermined and compromise the stability of the foundations.
~Eroded areas of the slope should be restored to match the adjacent grade and stabilized to prevent further erosion.
~ The area should be monitored for erosion annually to determine if continued slope restoration is necessary.
The two page report is available on our website (journalpress.com), along with photographs that depict the following observations from the engineering report that point out significant erosion areas.
The bleachers on the home side of the field are referred to below. DAA has numbered the five bleacher sections and refers to them that way. Facing the field, section #1 would be on your far right, proceeding numerically.
OBSERVATIONS FROM DAA
These observations are provided verbatim from the report:
- Stormwater runoff from the school board building area has eroded areas beneath the bleachers. Two areas of significant erosion were noted beneath bleacher sections 1 and 4.
- Under section 4, the erosion has exposed a significant portion of three pier footings. In the worst location, 22 inches of the previously imbedded concrete pier has been exposed with approximately 14 inches of the embedded pier length remaining. The erosion beneath section 1 has not visibly affected the foundations of the bleachers in that area.
See the evaluation report here.
Phyllis Cook
Staff Reporter
|
