Bauer Foundation Corp., the US subsidiary of Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH, has been commissioned with the execution of approximately 13.5 km stretch of cut-off wall at the Herbert Hoover Dike in Florida, US, with the firm having previously been involved in the maintenance of several sections of the dike on behalf of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
In a statement, Bauer said that due to dense soil and the presence of organic materials, this construction phase first requires predrilling using the Kelly drilling and continuous flight auger method before the actual cut-off wall can be produced using the cutter soil mixing method. In this method the characteristics of cut-off wall technique and the mixed-in-place method – where the existing soil is used as aggregate – are combined. The subsoil is also stabilized using jet grouting.
As well as the cut-off wall, Bauer has also been commissioned with carrying out earth works, inspection bores and bridge installations. The work for this subsection started in September 2019 and is expected to be completed by August 2022.
With a length of 56km and a width of 48 km, Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the US state of Florida. The maintenance of the 225km long Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake has been ongoing since 2007; it was originally built in the 1920s to protect against storm surges and flooding.
