As mentioned before, the earth to the south of block seven was being excavated in order to put in an underground parking garage. The depth of this excavation was about fifteen feet lower than the foundation of the building. The conflict was created when the contractor planned on where to put the excavated soil. The excavated earth was placed on the north side of block seven. This normally would not be an issue. However, the soil was piled about thirty-two feet high. This created about a forty-seven foot differential in grade levels. (Figure 1) Here, it is important to note that if saturated, soil that is not properly retained will flow in the direction that water would normally …show more content…
Proper education on the materials being used may have alerted the contractor to the fact that the piles could only withstand so much pressure. The resolution could have been as simple has making two piles instead of one. Proper site planning may have created an entirely different approach to removing the excavated soil. Another resolution could have been to remove the soil from the site completely. While these solutions may have cost more money and taken a bit more time, it is undeniable that the end result would have been