Project Description
Whitestone Associates, Inc. provided geotechnical consulting services for Drew University including subsurface investigations for a new, six-story dormitory building, new stormwater management facilities, and overall campus Master Planning.
The new dormitory facility included construction of an approximately 9,100 square feet footprint, six-story dormitory building with a partial basement and new utilities. The field exploration was conducted by means of conventional soil test borings advanced with a truck mounted drill rig using continuous flight hollow stem augers. A total of five soil borings were drilled and standard penetration tests (SPTs) were conducted in general accordance with ASTM designation D 1586. Each soil boring was advanced within the proposed building footprint to depths ranging from 24.3 feet to 50.0 feet. The soil borings were conducted in the presence of a Whitestone engineer who performed field tests, recorded visual classifications, and collected samples of the various strata encountered. Groundwater level observations were recorded during and at the completion of field operations prior to backfilling the borings. Representative samples of selected strata encountered were subjected to laboratory analysis.
Whitestone completed a review of the collected subsurface conditions and laboratory analyses as well as performed a literature review of historical aerial photography, topographic mapping, and regional geology. The results of the investigation and literature review were used to develop design recommendations for site preparation, earthwork, structural fill and backfill requirements, groundwater control, shallow foundation design, ground-supported floor slabs, lateral earth pressures on below grade wall and site retaining walls, asphalt and concrete pavements, seismic site classification, and excavation support.
Supplemental studies including seasonal high groundwater evaluation, infiltration testing, and in-situ density testing also were conducted on campus to evaluate the feasibility of stormwater management facilities.
In addition, Whitestone provided geotechnical expert witness testimony to support use of existing fields for over-flow parking during peak events.