Abstract:
As concerns around climate change and environmental impact grow, innovation must partner with sustainability for mutual benefit. In partnership with Urban Rivers, Chance Foundation Solutions is proud to support a floating eco-park using helical anchors. Eco-parks provide green spaces in urban settings and enhance biodiversity, creating a healthier environment for all.
With a project known as “The Wild Mile,” Urban Rivers is part of a citywide effort to provide green spaces, restore wildlife, and improve quality of life in and around the Chicago River. Floating docks or walkways are surrounded by native gardens, allowing people to enjoy the space alongside pollinators, fowl, and aquatic species that were previously unable to survive in the heavily-industrialized space.
Because of uncertainty surrounding the type of permit needed to install helical anchors, the foundations for the phase of the project were done by dropping massive concrete blocks into the River with a crane. The size made them difficult to haul and accurately place, and they had to be moved again to accommodate the project plans. Originally 16-feet-deep, the area where the eco-park is being built is now only four to nine feet deep due to sediment. Weather, flooding, and the unstable soil of the river bottom caused the concrete blocks to shift out of place.
For the second set of docks, helical anchors replaced concrete blocks. Engineers determined that in order to get below the silt and reach load-bearing soil, they would use 1-1/2” square shaft bar, precisely installing to depths of 18 to 19 feet. A shackle on the end of the anchor attached to an elastic rode, which held the floating docks and gardens in place.
In addition to the installation benefits, helical anchors reduced the carbon impact and eliminated the negative effects on the ecosystems the eco-park is growing and protecting.