National Parks Services - Glacier Bay National Park, New Operations Facility
Client: National Park Service
Year: 2023 - 2023
Location: Glacier Bay, Alaska
Features:
Geotechnical Borings in Seven Locations
Laboratory Testing and Evaluation
Liquefaction Analysis, Lateral Spread Analysis, Vertical Settlement Analysis
Project Summary
Central Engineering Services provided a geotechnical report for two proposed building sites within Glacier Bay National Park near Gustavus, Alaska. The project involved subsurface exploration for a single-story building at the Depot area and a two-story office complex at the Administrative area. Our Principal Engineer, Krey Younger, oversaw drilling operations in February 2023, with support from Discovery Drilling Inc. and Shannon & Wilson Inc. Central Geotech managed project coordination, data review, and geotechnical analysis to develop foundation recommendations.
The investigation included seven borings up to 31.5 feet deep, with lab testing to assess soil properties and evaluate liquefaction, lateral spread, and settlement risks. Our collaborative approach ensured timely delivery of a thorough report, providing NPS with essential insights for project planning.
Scope of Work:
The scope of the project was for provision of a full geotechnical report for two sites inside Glacier Bay National Park, near Gustavus, Alaska. At their Glacier Bay Headquarters in Bartlett Cove, AK, NPS was interested in the construction of one single-story building in the Depot area and the construction of one two-story office complex in the Administrative area.
Central Engineering Principal Engineer Krey Younger visited the site during exploration in February 2023 to oversee drilling operations and perform reconnaissance operations. During this time, a drill rig was provided and operated by Discovery Drilling Inc. of Anchorage, Alaska. Subcontracting to Central Geotech, personnel from Shannon & Wilson Inc. were on-site with the responsibility of field logging geotechnical borings, preparing boring logs, and completing laboratory testing. Central Geotech remained responsible for project coordination, review of boring logs in support of geotechnical analyses, and provision of recommendations inside a prepared geotechnical report. After subsurface exploration and data collection, our team used the obtained results to perform liquefaction and lateral spread analyses on each proposed building site.
Features:
Geotechnical borings in 7 locations, to a maximum depth of approximately 31.5 feet. Borings were performed using a track-mounted Geoprobe drill rig, with a 6-inch outer-diameter hollow-stem auger
Laboratory testing and evaluation of collected soil samples, including grain size sieve analysis (ASTM C136), washed sieve analysis of material passing the No. 200 sieve (ASTM D1140), assessment of Atterberg Limits (ASTM D4318), and assessment of moisture content (ASTM D2216)
Performance of liquefaction analysis, lateral spread analysis, and vertical settlement analysis on each of the two proposed building sites
Results:
Our principal engineers worked closely with our design team, comprised of Associate and Staff level engineers and geologists, in a holistic approach towards arriving at the recommendations and conclusions that form the key elements of our geotechnical report. This interdisciplinary approach allowed us to create a full-scale geotechnical report over the course of a relatively short time, and ensured that a full range of options and solutions were considered.