Installation of a Cutoff Wall Along the Mississippi River

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The presentation describes construction of the East St. Louis Deep Cut-off Wall, a 4,400-foot barrier along the Mississippi River levee designed to protect approximately 250,000 people and $4.5 billion in assets. The wall reached depths of 142 feet and was installed through sandy soils into hard limestone using self-hardening slurry. Work began in 2020 amid COVID-19 disruptions and faced challenging river levels, power-line restrictions, utilities, highly permeable soils, and a trapped cutter.<br /><br />The project used hydraulic grabs and a trench cutter, with extensive monitoring and quality-control testing to verify strength, permeability, verticality, and continuity. Two 80-foot-wide utility gaps were later addressed through a combined solution: slurry wall sections above and beside the utilities, plus angled jet-grout columns beneath them.<br /><br />Testing showed the wall exceeded specified performance requirements, and pump tests confirmed substantially reduced groundwater flow. The project received special recognition in the 2023 DFI Outstanding Project Awards.

Keywords

East St. Louis Deep Cut-off Wall

Mississippi River levee

slurry wall construction

deep cutoff wall

groundwater seepage control

jet grouting utilities gaps