Sacramento River East Levee Contract 4 – Seepage Cutoff Wall Construction Challenges and Solutions-Video

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Tim Williams of Kleinfelder presented four cutoff-wall projects completed under Contract 4 of the Sacramento River East Levee Improvement Program. The work closed gaps in existing levee protection across four sites, including a former breach, seepage-prone areas near a major pump station, and a tie-in intended to prevent failures in rural levees from threatening urban Sacramento.<br /><br />The team used deep soil mixing (DSM) and jet grouting, with methods selected to suit tight urban sites, traffic constraints, and nearby utilities and buildings. Construction challenges included buried debris and wood, sinkholes during jet grouting, protecting a hotel’s foundation, overlapping walls with incomplete as-built records, and maintaining safe clearance from a high-pressure gas line. Monitoring, additional coring, testing, and careful review of large volumes of construction data supported quality control and acceptance. Williams emphasized the importance of coordination among the owner, designers, and contractors.

Keywords

cutoff-wall projects

Sacramento River East Levee Improvement Program

deep soil mixing

jet grouting

levee protection