SLURRY WALLS PROTECT HARVARD SQUARE

Harvard Square subway station of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has the first slurry walls ever built as a permanent part of a structure. When MBTA began to extend its Red Line 3 miles to a new terminal, it was necessary for the existing Harvard Square station to be modified and enlarged without damaging adjacent historic buildings of Harvard University. The new station, built on a curve, is as close as 7 ft to historic building foundations. A 3 ft thick slurry wall was key to excavating this tight site. While rigid slurry walls had become commonplace to protect nearby structures, none before had been built as a permanent subway element. The bentonite slurry wall also had to provide a degree of groundwater cutoff. Extensive geotechnical studies were done in 4 phases. Construction began in March 1979 and the slurry walls were completed in August 1980. An extensive field monitoring program was designed to detect ground movements, foretelling as possible danger to historic structures. As a result of thorough surface investigations during design, careful construction monitoring and good practices by the contractors, the slurry walls have performed better than expected.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/10480594
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  345 East 47th Street
  New York, NY  United States  10017-2398
• Publication Date: 1985-12

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 44-47
• Serial:
  • Civil Engineering
  • Volume: 55
  • Issue Number: 12
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 0885-7024
  • Serial URL: http://www.pubs.asce.org/ceonline/newce/html

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Construction; Groundwater; Historic preservation; Monitoring; Rail transit stations; Railroad facilities; Slurry trenches; Soil stabilization; Subways
• Identifier Terms: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
• Old TRIS Terms: Groundwater control; Slurry trench construction; Subway construction; Wayside
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Geotechnology; Highways; History; Materials; Public Transportation; Railroads; I53: Construction of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00454898
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 31 1988 12:00AM