The Kentucky Lock is an existing 600 foot long navigation lock located on the Tennessee River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky. The US Army Corps of Engineers constructed a new 1,200 foot long navigation lock landward of the existing lock. The purpose of the Upstream Lock Monolith project was to construct the upstream 9 monoliths for the new lock.
A three line grout curtain and cavity grouting was performed along the base of the new lock alignment to prevent water seepage through fractures in the foundation limestone.
Rock grouting maximizes the potential benefit of the under laying rocks formational characteristics. The design engineer reviews all available geotechnical information and conditions to develop a site specific grout mix to maximize the efficacy of the operation. Upon mobilization to the site, the design parameters are validated through a pre-production testing program prior to commencing production.
Temperatures on site
CF of grout
LF of drilling
Coastal installed a 3-line grout curtain beneath the alignment of the upstream monoliths and gates. The grout curtain was constructed by split spacing methods with balanced stabilized grouts and automated grout monitoring and data collection software.
Drilling consisted of the installation of 12,000 LF of overburden casing, drilling grout holes in rock of 23,000 LF utilizing water flush, and grout hole re-drilling of over 45,000 LF. A state of the art, Computer Aided Grout Monitoring system was implemented and utilized for monitoring the grout program. The site consisted of Karst formations and clay overburden soils. Grout holes were washed and pressure tested utilizing the Computer-aided Grouting system to monitor flow and pressure. Up to 20% of the holes were surveyed for alignment with a down-the-hole survey probe and logged with an Optical Televiewer probe. Grout injection of a suite of 5 balanced stabilized grout mixes included injecting 70,000 CF of grout. Work was performed on a double shift basis during both hot summer days with ambient temperatures exceeding 100° F and winter conditions with lows below 20° F.
