GROUND SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH DEWATERING OF A DEPRESSED HIGHWAY SECTION

Subsidence of land areas adjacent to construction of an Interstate highway is reported. Foundation settlements of structures adjacent to a depressed section occurred as a result of pumping groundwater during construction dewatering operations. Preliminary recommendations and actual construction dewatering operations are discussed. The stability of the Sacramento River levee and the possibility of piping during high water were significant factors in planning the dewatering operation. Records of groundwater drawdown for various pumping rates are presented with data from a Ranney well pumping system located in downtown Sacramento; foundation settlement studies for buildings in the adjacent area and specifications for dewatering of the depressed highway section are described. The need for comprehensive laboratory and field tests is discussed. Unforeseen circumstances that developed during the dewatering process required deviation from the scheduled construction operations and continuous monitoring of groundwater and ground surface elevations. It is concluded that the settlement problem could have been minimized had its probability been more fully realized. Groundwater levels should have been more closely monitored during the initial stages of dewatering. Valuable information could have been developed early in the planning stages of this project from drawdown studies using deep wells pumping from a lower, more permeable stratum. /Author/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/612/612-004.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=GROUND+SUBSIDENCE+ASSOCIATED+WITH+DEWATERING+OF+A+DEPRESSED+HIGHWAY+SECTION&author=J.+Hannon&author=B.+McGee&publication_year=1976
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Engineering Geology. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Hannon, Joseph B
  • McGee, Barry E
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: pp 25-30
• Monograph Title: Subsidence over mines and caverns, moisture and frost actions, and classification
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 612
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Depressed highways; Dewatering; Drawdown (Hydraulics); Field studies; Groundwater; Pumps; Road construction; Settlement (Structures); Subsidence (Geology); Water table
• Old TRIS Terms: Drawdown; Groundwater level
• Subject Areas: Geotechnology; Highways; Hydraulics and Hydrology;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00158162
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025885
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Sep 28 1977 12:00AM