Pensacola Bay Bridge
Geotechnical and Bridge Foundation

Pensacola Bay Bridge
Geotechnical and Bridge Foundation

Madrid CPWG was asked to complete soil borings, laboratory testing, assist with bridge foundation design and associated construction plans preparation for the new 3-mile long pair of bridges across Pensacola Bay in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties, Florida. The work included nearly 200 standard penetration test (SPT) borings, most of which were completed from four barges that were positioned at the proposed bridge pier locations. The borings were completed to depths of up to 240 feet below the barge deck.  Temporary casing was used to stabilize the borehole because the very soft (weight-of-rod) clayey soil at the bay bottom extended to depths up to 90 feet below the barge deck and another weight-of-rod zone that often extended as deep as 150 feet. In-house laboratory testing was completed continually, with weekly sample deliveries, in large batches throughout the project. We worked on a tight schedule, including nights and weekends, to meet the project shcedule.

Madrid CPWG Benefit. Madrid CPWG completed the project on budget and well within the time schedule required by the client, meeting all deadlines along the way. Successful completion of our second large-scale bridge project and quick turn-around with project data, including engineering soil parameters, has helped Madrid CPWG become a go-to geotechnical fi rm to partner with for large projects in Florida.

The project included

• Large scale soil classification
• Large Scale laboratory testing
• 17 MSE wall borings – both SPT and Cone Penetration Test
• Roadway Soil Survey with over 40 hand auger borings
• Intersection mast arm borings.
• Driven pile axial capacity analysis (FB-Deep) on bridge piles
• Soil parameters for lateral analysis (FB-Multiplier) for piles
• FB-Deep pile capacity calculations during drilling
• QA/QC review for the final reports and plan documents