On April 20th, 2023, the WCC of the ADSC and WSDOT held their Joint Training Workshop. Our thanks to Daren Konopaski, Business Manager, and the International Operating Engineers Local 302, for hosting this event at their facility in Bothell, WA.
The Joint Training Workshop is sponsored by the ADSC-WSDOT Task Force which has worked to develop and continuously update the WSDOT Drilled Shaft and Earth Retention Specification into a model specification for use by WSDOT, local public agencies, and private engineers. Our annual Joint Training provides an open forum to increase the understanding and use of this specification and another opportunity to improve the drilled shaft and earth retention industry.
This Workshop attracted over 140 participants and focused on the topics of drilled shaft construction and design, non-destructive testing of drilled shafts, and anchored earth retention. The participants included drilling contractors, consulting engineers, WSDOT personnel, and engineers from local municipalities. Through the generous support of Local 302 allowing us the use of their Bothell facility, the ADSC-WSDOT Task Force is able to keep the registration fee low enough to attract a cross section of the industry.
The morning session started with a presentation on WSDOT’s geotechnical and construction practices by Mark Frye, and Jim Cuthbertson of WSDOT. Adam Running of Malcom Drilling gave a presentation on all the various equipment used for drilled shaft excavations. Brendan Harkins of Condon-Johnson & Associates, Inc. gave a presentation on the planning, execution, and quality control associated with rebar and concrete placement for drilled shafts. Mark Rohrbach of Ram Geo-Services presented on non-destructive testing of drilled shafts, highlighting the pros and cons of each of the different methods. After a short break, John Tuttle of Sinclair discussed the use and disposal of drilling slurry. Peter Mercer of Condon Johnson & Associates, Inc. then explained the basics of tieback and micropile testing.
Using a mockup of a soldier beam wall outside the building during lunch, Peter Mercer demonstrated a typical setup and testing procedure for tieback testing, and John Tuttle gave a hands on slurry testing program.
The afternoon session included an informative presentation by Marty Bixler, of GRL on bi-directional testing of drilled shafts. This presentation was followed by four case studies. Chase Chappelle of Michels Drilling presented on the SR520 to Mercer project highlighting the difficult access constraints that were overcome. Griffin Lowe of Condon Johnson & Associates, Inc. presented on the May Creek testing program, which included tieback test holds up to 72hrs. Tait McCutchan of Malcom Drilling presented on the Abernethy Bridge project, which included 3.8M shaft to depths of 250ft. The training was wrapped up with a presentation by Bryce Niekamp of DBM on the Washington Convention Center project. Bryce illustrated the creative design concepts that were developed to overcome the various challenges on the project.
With the continued cooperation of the ADSC and WSDOT as exemplified by the Joint Training Workshop, we can improve the understanding of the design and construction of drilled shafts and earth retention systems amongst contractors, engineers, and owners.
Summary provided by Brendan Harkins, Condon-Johnson & Assoc.