Steve Barnett Project Overview
After an inspection in early 2016, a flood protection levee along the Little Calumet River was found to be out of compliance with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Levee Safety Program. In order to be recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a certified levee, a levee must meet the USACE levee certification requirements. This certification required the City of Lansing working in conjunction with their consultant (Robinson Engineering), to clear woody vegetation from the levee face and prevent future growth. In addition, the levee needed to be protected from damage caused by burrowing animals. The root system from woody vegetation/trees and tunnels from burrowing animals can create a pathway for infiltration through the levee causing piping which can ultimately lead to the levee failure.
Solution
Robinson Engineering proposed to clear the levee slope of woody vegetation and line the face with approximately 16,000 square feet of CC8 Concrete GCCM. The Concrete GCCM underlayment was used to prevent the growth of trees and damage from tunneling rodents. Soil anchors were used to hold the GCCM into the levee soil substrate prior to placement of riprap. Riprap would be placed on the uncured CC8 construction material prior to hydrating. An existing steel and concrete flood wall along the top of the levee slope was the terminus of the GCCM.
