New York Tub Crossing Lifting
The Job
Eight panels of StarTrack modular grade crossing tubs settled. As a result of the settlement multiple clips broke. This tub crossing lifting project was for a short line serving an industrial facility in Geneva, New York.
The Challenge
The crossing tubs settled, and when crossed by trucks, pumped water containing the subballast up between the tubs and adjacent pavement. The crossing was the only entrance into an industrial facility that took two trains per day. Because of limited onsite storage, rail service couldn’t be disrupted at all.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed grouting immediately below the panels, and also into the underlying disturbed subballast using CJGrout 48NHL geotechnical polyurethane grout. CJGeo performed the tub crossing lifting work without impacting rail traffic, and the facility was able to function normally throughout the repair, which took less than a day.
Polyurethane grouting with CJGrout is an excellent alternative to cement based grouting, because:
- CJGrout cures within a few minutes, so there are no limitations on rail traffic
- CJGrout is not brittle, so does not break down in dynamic environments like thin layers of cement-based grout tend to do
- CJGrout application is not weather dependent; in this case, it was snowing during installation
- CJGeo controls the entire CJGrout logistics process, so there’s no need to wait on ready mix trucks or coordinate deliveries of material that goes bad within a few hours of offsite mixing
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Valve Vault Infiltration Grouting
The Job
This valve vault infiltration grouting project is part of the Purple Line project in Maryland. A large diameter water line was relocated, with the tie-in done inside a 10′ diameter vault that was about 20′ deep. The vault structure, which is precast, and set inside a line plate shaft, was leaking at multiple joints and at a poured in place pipe penetration closure.
The Challenge
The vault structure wasn’t concentric in the shaft. This left little room to pour the closure around the pipe penetrations. One of the penetrations leaked, causing the structure to completely fill with water. Per specifications, it needed to be dry.
Most of the shaft was backfilled with 57 stone. Highly permeable backfill material can make water control grouting particularly difficult. When grouting to seal relatively tight leaks in a structure, the less permeable the adjacent soils the better. All grouts want to take the path of least resistance, and with highly permeable backfills, that often means traveling out into, and permeating, the backfill material instead of into tight cracks and water passageways.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed grouting the infiltration points with CJGrout-35NHV61. 35NHV61 is a hydroinsensitive, plural component geotechnical polyurethane, certified for potable water contact. 35NHV61 is a moderately mobile grout, selected to minimize mobility into the 57 stone backfill and reduce material loss during grouting.
CJGeo mobilized a three person crew to the site, and performed the valve vault infiltration grouting over a few hours.
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Illinois Spillway Grouting
The Job
A spillway serving as a dam for a lake owned & maintained by a property owner association outside of Carbondale, Illinois stopped having water flowing over the spillway, requiring spillway grouting. The property owners determined that the lake was draining through voids under the spillway slab. This made them concerned about destabilization of the spillway, which was the sole access for six homes.
The Challenge
The flow velocity was rather high, and immediately on the other side of the spillway was a 30′ cliff. The water was designed to spill over as a waterfall. Given the extraordinary difficulty of retrieving any material washed over the waterfall, the grout had to have an exceptionally fast set. It also needed to provide adequate bearing capacity for the roadway slabs.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed grouting below the spillway with CJGrout 40NHL. CJGrout 40NHL is usually used for differential settlement correction. CJGrout 40NHL performs well for differential settlement correction because it reacts very quickly. It’s used for medium duty lifting, such as highway pavement, so it would provide more than enough bearing capacity.
The owners were very excited that it would be significantly less expensive to grout the existing spillway than to have someone local install a portadam and replace the entire structure. CJGeo mobilized a single polyurethane grouting crew to the site. They stopped the leaks and kicked all the water flow over the spillway in a single day.
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Chicago polyurethane grouting
The Job
This Chicago polyurethane grouting project is located at BNSF’s Willow Springs Intermodal yard, a critical facility in United States’ freight rail network. The facility is colocated with a large UPS trucking operation. BNSF has very tight time lines for transferring containers from inbound trains to UPS. There are dozens of crossings within the facility, which is primarily concrete pavement.
The Challenge
80 StarTrack modular grade crossing panels across 10 different crossings in the facility experienced settlement. The settlement was affecting the safe operation of yard trucks, causing delays in container transfer times.
Because of the 24/7/365 operation, and very tight performance times, there was no tolerance for downtime.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed grouting the affected panels with CJGrout-48NHL. 48NHL is best for differential settlement correction in high load applications, such as heavy haul rail. It cures within a few minutes, which allows immediate resumption of rail traffic and truck traffic.
CJGeo mobilized a polyurethane grouting crew with extensive modular grade crossing repair experience and grouted the 10 crossings over a period of five days onsite. This Chicago polyurethane grouting project did not affect rail traffic, yard truck operations, or performance metrics.
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8′ CMP Joint Grouting
The Job
A spec warehouse was planned for a vacant piece of land which had 1700LF of 8′ CMP running through it. The pipe was 10 years old. Because the site was vacant, there was no maintenance. Nearly every joint showed signs of soil infiltration, and there were massive sinkholes along the entire alignment. Given the depth, size, and short work window, the contractor sought out a CMP joint grouting repair alternative to replacement.
The Challenge
To avoid replacing the entire run of pipe, the joints had to be sealed. There were 80 pipe joints and 12 pipe to structure joints to seal. The pipe crossed under a roadway, and then crossed the site at an angle. The downstream end of the pipe transitioned to new 96″ RCP.
The Solution
In preparation for the repair, CJGeo had to educate the town, contractor, owner & consulting engineers that polyurethane grouting is an effective CMP repair method.
CJGeo mobilized a polyurethane grouting crew to the the site. Over the course of a week onsite, the crew performed all of the CMP joint grouting.
CJGeo used CJGrout 20SDB geotechnical polyurethane. 20SDB is a high mobility geotechnical polyurethane, so seeks out and fills even the smallest of voids outside of pipes. Because it’s highly mobile, it doesn’t deflect or damage the CMP that needs repair.
The manholes also had significant defects. Made of non-parged sewer brick, they leaked extensively. To address the widespread infiltration through the structures, CJGeo sprayed the interior of each structure with CJGrout 60FDC. 60FDC is a hybrid polyurethane/polyurea spray coating. For durability, the 60FDC was coated with polyurea. The 20SDB, 60SDB & polyurea coating were all installed using the same equipment, significantly reducing costs.
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Norfolk polyurethane grouting
The Job
This Norfolk polyurethane grouting project is located on a military base. The medical clinic on a military base was being renovated. As part of the renovation, the 650sqft elevated slab front porch needed to be replaced. The slab “sounded hollow,” and the presumption was that there were nominal voids below the slab.
The Challenge
At the start of demolition, the demolition contractor determined that the voids below the slab were closer to 3′ deep. This presented a safety problem for the demolition. The concern was that the slab would fail catastrophically during demolition. The general contractor reached out to CJGeo about ways to reduce the void depth.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed void filling below the slab using CJGrout 20SDB. CJGrout 20SDB is a low exotherm bulk void filling geotechnical polyurethane specifically formulated for deep fill placements without scorching or charring.
CJGrout 20SDB cures to 95% of final strength within a few minutes. Because of this, by the time the crew is packed up to leave the site, the material is effectively completely cured. This is significantly faster than cementitious grouts like flowable fill, and facilitates fast return to service. Because 20SDB is very light, it also reduces the likelihood of inducing settlement compared to traditional flowable fill.
A two person polyurethane grouting crew mobilized to the site and placed approximately 2,900lbs of CJGrout 20SDB in a few hours onsite, allowing the demolition contractor to safely resume work.
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New Jersey Grade Crossing Stabilization
The Job
This grade crossing stabilization project is located in Edison, New Jersey. A precast modular grade crossing (Oldcastle StarTrack) crossing developed significant pavement deterioration. NJDOT directed the railroad to stabilize and lift the panels and then patch the adjacent asphalt.
The Challenge
The grade crossing sees up to 8 trains per day (heavy industrial service), and crosses a four lane arterial highway. So, there wasn’t any allowable downtime. Because of this, traditional cementitious grout was not a viable option. Cementitious grouts generally need hours to reach strength, so can significantly disrupt train schedules, and require long lane closures for vehicles.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed grouting the panels using CJGrout 60NHL. 60NHL is a geotechnical polyurethane grout specifically formulated for heavy applications such as rail and aircraft loads. A CJGeo polyurethane grouting crew mobilized to the site and in fewer than 2 hours onsite restored the affected panels. Another name for this process is concrete raising.
This grade crossing stabilization project did not require ground improvement grouting. The cause of the settlement was the bedding fines washing out, so only shallow grouting was necessary.
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Warehouse Floor Joint Stabilization
The Job
This floor joint stabilization project is located in Ashland, Virginia. About two months after occupying a new warehouse, the tenant identified two joints where the floor “popped” at a joint when a forklift drove over them. After consulting the plans, the owner determined that the joint wasn’t doweled, and needed warehouse floor joint stabilization.
The Challenge
Both affected joints were on main, high frequency travel pathways within the warehouse. So, any repairs had to be done quickly, and with zero impact to operations.
The Solution
CJGeo proposed undersealing the two joints, which had experienced slab curl, with high density geotechnical polyurethane grout. In fewer than three hours onsite, CJGeo undersealed the joints with CJGrout 20SDB, load tested them, and demobilized. There were no impacts to operations of the facility during this warehouse floor joint stabilization repair.
Undersealing is the best method for addressing slab curl joint popping. Grinding or polishing, an alternative method does not stop the movement. Filling joints with rigid joint filler can temporarily stop movement, but typically results in fatigue and cracking. Undersealing for slab foundation repair completely fills the voids below the floor so that the floor can’t move. If the curl is significant enough that it affects ride, polishing can be done afterwards to address ridges.
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CBBT Sheet Pile Pregrouting
The Job
This sheet pile pregrouting project is located in the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel’s Parallel Thimble Shoal Tunnel Project is constructing a second tunnel parallel to the original to reduce traffic congestion. All launch & receiving work is on man-made islands in the Chesapeake Bay. The islands are dense with utilities, equipment and operations facilities associated with the existing tunnel, which is in continuous use.
The Challenge
During previous phases, installation of sheet piling for tunneling activities and other driven elements induced consolidation of the loose sandy fill on the islands. This was causing settlement of duct banks, pavements and other structures, which were remedied by CJGeo using polyurethane compaction grouting.
In this case, sheet piles had to be driven immediately adjacent to the roadway. This is in order to excavate the receiving pit for the tunnel boring machine. The construction team was concerned about inducing settlement of the adjacent roadway. They reached out to CJGeo about performing compaction grouting under the footing for the original tunnel’s portal wall. This was after the wall had been demolished down to grade.
The Solution
CJGeo performed compaction grouting utilizing an NSF-certified potable water contact plural component CJGrout 35NHV polyurethane grout. Cutoff criteria was 0.10 inches of movement of the foundation or adjacent roadway. Upon completion of the compaction grouting by CJGeo, sheet piling installation started. There was only nominal movement of the foundation and roadway.
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North Carolina Tub Crossing Repairs
The Job
This tub crossing repairs project is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Fifty two OldCastle StarTrack panels at four different grade crossings settled to the point of requiring slow orders at the crossings. In order to restore the track to normal speeds, the settlement had to be corrected.
The Challenge
Due to scheduling constraints with rail traffic, with very short windows on weekend nights, the owner elected to have the repairs completed during a single weekend shutdown period. While this allowed for longer work periods, it also meant that four crossings needed to be repaired in fewer than 24 hours.
The Solution
CJGeo mobilized two polyurethane grouting crews to the system, and grouted two crossings each during two shifts. All 52 of the panels were stabilized and lifted back to grade using CJGrout 48NHL, which allows for immediate resumption of rail traffic, from light rail to heavy haul.
Polyurethane grouting is also sometimes called structural polymer grouting. Regardless of name, the process works very well where fast return to service is important. In the case of tub crossing repairs, grout must set very quickly in order for rail traffic to resume. CJGrout 48NHL achieves 95% of its ultimate strength in fewer than 15 minutes.
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Facing a similar challenge to this tub crossing repairs project by CJGeo? Give us a shout or shoot us a text. Click the state marker for the location of your project for contact info for the appropriate rep.
