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Published: 1/31/2012 - Updated: 1 hour ago
BY DAVID PATCH
BLADE STAFF WRITER
ODOT warns of an I-475 ramp closure. It was unclear late Tuesday why the sign says 120 days but a state official predicted 7 months. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Photo Reprints
West Toledoans: Still have your detour routes for the Douglas Road entrance to eastbound I-475 in the backs of your heads, or programmed into your navigation boxes?
Good, because the ramp that was closed for more than half of 2011 will close again, for seven months, starting Feb. 13, the Ohio Department of Transportation has announced.
The shutdown will allow construction of a retaining wall along the ramp and eastbound lanes immediately east of Douglas, similar to walls built on the westbound side. Its timing is a consequence of both the unusually wet weather that beset Toledo during most of 2011, and the unusually warm, snowless conditions in the city for most of this winter.
Originally, the retaining wall was to have been built during the 2011 ramp shutdown, which ran from mid-May until Dec. 2. But while the ramp itself was rebuilt then, the wet weather put contractor E.S. Wagner months behind schedule for wall construction, so that part of the work never started.
ODOT officials said in December that the ramp would close again in late March or early April to build the wall -- "whenever the weather breaks," district construction engineer Dennis Charvat said at the time.
But thanks to favorable construction weather, contractor E.S. Wagner is ready now to move on the work that requires shutting the ramp back down, Mike Gramza, the department's planning and engineering administrator in Bowling Green, said Tuesday.
"They're able to get in there and get working on a noise wall and retaining wall on that side," Mr. Gramza said.
The Douglas entrance is to reopen about Aug. 24 -- weather permitting, of course.
When it began in August, 2010, construction of the $64 million project to widen I-475 between Douglas and I-75 and replace four scattered ramps near Jackman Road and Central Avenue with a single interchange at a new ProMedica Parkway was to wrap up by June, 2013.
But a very wet spring last year quickly set construction back. By September, ODOT had extended the completion deadline to the end of the 2013 construction season, and Mr. Gramza said that more excessive rain in the fall put even that target in doubt.
Mild winter weather is helping now, he said, and ODOT "is working with the contractor to accelerate the schedule where they can."
The Douglas exit from westbound I-475, closed since mid-April, now is expected to reopen in July. It was more severely affected by last year's weather, because in late April part of a slope just east of Sherbrooke Road on the westbound side -- near where the exit diverges from the freeway -- began collapsing after a rainstorm.
The slope was stabilized with temporary steel sheet piling, and now project managers have settled on a redesign for the retaining wall there that will allow that part of the project to resume.
Soil conditions in a small area near Sherbrooke "were much weaker than expected," Mr. Gramza said. That will be counteracted by using heavy piles, sunk into shafts drilled five feet into bedrock, to anchor the retaining wall there, he said.
The northern abutment for the Sherbrooke Road bridge over the freeway, to be rebuilt as part of the project, will be reinforced because of the soil problem, too, Mr. Gramza said.
January was the seventh straight month with wetter than average weather at Toledo Express Airport, according to the National Weather Service.
But January also is typically one of the driest months of the year in Toledo, and with most precipitation falling as snow. Toledo received just 6.7 inches of snow this January, 4.7 inches less than normal, and the 2.42 inches of total precipitation that had fallen by late Tuesday was 0.37 inch higher than normal for the month.
More January precipitation than usual fell as rain because the month was 4.7 degrees warmer than normal -- a 30.2-degree average daily mean temperature, instead of the normal 25.5 degrees.
But neither the warm temperatures nor the low snowfall was extreme enough to make any Top 10 rankings lists. Among recent Januaries, both 2002 (35.2 degrees) and 2006 (36.6 degrees) were significantly warmer.
Tuesday was the warmest day of the month with a high of 58 at Toledo Express -- five degrees shy of the record for the date set in 1989.
A storm approaching the area was expected to usher in cooler air by Wednesday evening, with a chance of snow showers forecast for early Thursday, but National Weather Service forecasters expected warmer-than-normal temperatures to persist through the weekend.
Contact David Patch at: dpatch@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.
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STORY:20120131043 Douglas Rd. 475 on-ramp to close http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2012/01/31/Douglas-Road-entrance-on-1-475-to-close.html -1
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Douglas Rd. 475 on-ramp to close
THE Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is warning that the practice of erecting retaining walls as a solution to landslides may not be the best option.
Project Manager for the Community Based Landslide Risk Reduction Mitigation Project (CBLRRMP), at ODPEM, Kirk Frankson, pointed out that retaining walls actually make the problem of landslides worse, because in many cases the actual volume of soil and water builds up behind the walls.
CBLRRMP is a low-cost slope mitigation pilot plan to be implemented in four test areas in Jamaica. It is funded by the World Bank at a cost of US$2.375 million.
He explained that when a retaining wall is built, oftentimes it is not properly constructed and so frequently, during heavy rainfall, water builds up resulting in the collapse of the structure.
Underscoring the point, Research Analyst at the ODPEM, Christopher Gayle, explained why retaining walls fail.
“Retaining walls, if not constructed properly, act as a dam or a holding mechanism for (excess) water, which may fail if adequate provision is not made for draining within the retaining walls. So, we’re saying if you’re looking at cost effectiveness, drainage solutions are better than the more expensive retaining [wall] solutions,” he said.
He added that in a lot of cases, the walls are usually thinner than what is required for an “adequate” retaining wall, hence they bulge, slant, flip or break up from the force of the contained water.
Meanwhile, Frankson said that various low-cost strategies are being investigated under the Management of Slope Stabilisation in Communities project (MoSSIC).
These strategies include traditional terracing, benching of slopes, planting of grass and the implementation of drains and gutters.
The first community test case, Harbour Heights, a former Operation PRIDE settlement, is now a regularised community which overlooks Harbour View, where some $50 million is to be spent erecting a network of drains, channels and rainwater harvesting strategies that will act as natural hazard intervention techniques.
The strategies being tested under the MoSSIC were developed by geologists, Professor Malcolm Anderson and Dr Elizabeth Holcombe of the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom, and funded by the World Bank.
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ODPEM says retaining walls may not prevent landslides
City of Milpitas, along with the Milpitas police and fire departments, is investigating why a construction worker was trapped and killed under a collapsed wall on Calaveras Ridge Drive Saturday after crews had been given a stop work order.
Staff from the city's Building and Safety Department responded to a call related to a fatal accident at the construction site of a residence located at 814 Calaveras Ridge Dr. at 10:30 a.m. Jan. 28.
A worker was crushed in a 10- to 12-foot deep trench that had been cut for placement of a future foundation of a retaining wall due to the sliding of unstable soil, which had been caused by the lack of shoring of the trench walls, staff said.
The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office identified the victim as 39-year-old Hayward resident Raul Zapata Tuesday morning.
Firefighters reported they were confronted with a "mountain of loose dirt" where Zapata had been trapped.
Although they made every effort to reach Zapata, they determined there was no way to get him out from under the dirt, reports state.
Firefighters then withdrew from the area to develop a safe recovery plan, according to reports.
Investigators from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Milpitas police and the Santa Clara County Coroner's office were called to the scene, and by 10 p.m. it was determined another collapse of loose dirt would hinder further recovery efforts, reports state.
Plans were made Sunday to cover Zapata with a concrete
box and use an excavator to pull piles of dirt down to make the area safe.
Crews did not recover his body until Monday night.
According to Keyvan Irannejad, the city's chief building official, a building inspector issued a stop work notice on the site Jan. 25 after seeing moist dirt in the 12-foot high retaining wall.
Irannejad said workers with Fremont-based U.S. Sino Investments, Inc. were building a new 5,800 square-foot home inside the gated community.
Construction was in the early stages, and a 12-foot cut into the hillside was made for the foundation.
The stop work order required a soil engineer review to determine any require action and provide recommendations for shoring, according to Irannejad.
Despite the stop work notice, workers continued to work in the trench.
"The stop work order was hand delivered to the project manager on the site Wednesday," Irannejad said. "But on Saturday there were seven or eight people at the site working again."
He added he did not know why U.S. Sino employees continued to work on the site after the stop work order had been issued, and said he was still investigating that detail Tuesday morning.
Calls to Richard Liu, U.S. Sino's president, were not returned. Irannejad confirmed Liu was in China, and all company representatives were at Calaveras Ridge Drive.
Only city staff, Milpitas police officers and fire crews, as well as contractor employees were being allowed on site.
Milpitas police issued a press release at about 2:50 p.m. Tuesday stating investigators were working with Cal/OSHA to determine if charges would be filed.
Investigators from Cal/OSHA were unavailable.
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Hayward man killed in Milpitas retaining wall collapse in hills
One man is dead following a residential worksite accident in a gated community in the Milpitas hills Saturday. The worker was buried in a deep trench by a large amount of dirt after a retaining wall gave way at the home at 814 Calaveras Ridge Drive, according to a city official.
The body had not been removed as of Monday noon, according to a city source.
Keyvan Irannejad, chief building official with the Milpitas Building and Safety Department, provided the following information: "On Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, Building and Safety Department staff responded a call related to a fatal construction accident at the construction site of residence located at 814 Calaveras Ridge Drive. The worker was crushed in a 10 to 12 feet deep trench, cut for the future foundation placement, due to sliding of unstable soil, caused by the lack of shoring of the trench walls. Prior to the accident, on Wednesday, Jan. 25, Building and Safety Department inspector has issued a stop work notice sighting the lack of shoring and requiring review by the soils engineer to determine required action and provide recommendations for shoring. Despite of the stop work notice, work in the trench was continued, which led to the fatal accident. Building and Safety Department staff on the site met with and consulted with Milpitas Fire and Police departments' personnel and also contacted CAL-OSHA compliance engineer.
Currently, the project soil and structural engineers, and excavation company were contacted
to provide immediate remediation actions."
Fire Associates of Silicon Valley, who responded to the scene, posted the following on its website:
"Arriving firefighters were confronted with a mountain of loose dirt above the area where the worker was trapped, and bravely made access to the area where the worker was trapped. Once they reached the worker they discovered there was nothing they could do to help him, and withdrew from the area to work out a safe recovery plan.
"Investigators from Cal OSHA, Milpitas PD and the Santa Clara County Coroner's office were called to the scene. While investigators did their work fire department officials were working on recovery options ...
"By 10 p.m. (Saturday) it was determined the threat of further collapse of the loose dirt was too dangerous to continue the operation and operations were suspended for the evening. The plan for Sunday is to cover the worker with a concrete box and use an excavator to pull the piles of dirt down, rendering the area safe. Once the collapse threat was removed the excavator crews will be able to dig around the concrete box and complete the recovery operation."
The Milpitas police and fire departments have not issued a statement with more details yet. A fire department official said the Calaveras Ridge site is being treated as a crime scene.
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BREAKING NEWS: Man buried, dies in worksite accident
04-08-2010 14:39 Noah Hurley of Hurley's New Lawns is building a limestone retaining wall at the base of a steep yard to help prevent erosion of the soil off of the yard. He uses pallet forks on a skid steer to lift each rock and place it carefully into place
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How to build a Limestone Retaining Wall- Hurley's New Lawns - Video
24-02-2009 08:08 http://www.orserlandscaping.com chris-orser-landscaping, Inc. (215) 249-1236. Doylestown, PA 18901 Bucks County.
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Retaining Wall; Garden Wall (part 7) - Video
11-03-2009 15:53 Lowe's expert, Mike Kraft, shows viewers tips for building and installing a stone retaining wall around a raised flowerbed or planter.
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How to Build and Install a Retaining Wall - Video
24-02-2010 13:04 See how these homeowners used natural stone to make a new retaining wall look old and authentic. Learn more at frazierquarry.com
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