As part of the land development process, RPC often work with Geotechnical Engineers to address various geotechnical issues that may be present on a site. An example of this is a monitoring survey RPC are conducting at 52 Wilson Road, Waihi Beach to determine the amount of pre-load settlement. The Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment Report for the site concluded that 270mm to 730mm of settlement could occur as a result of the construction of a proposed commercial building.
To address this, the area of concern has been pre-loaded with a mound of fill 3 metres high by 30 meters wide by 90 metres long to work as a temporary weight to compact the site over time. 11 steel rods were placed vertically in the mound to act as monitoring points while the land settles. Over the 4 months that RPC have been surveying the rods to date, the site has settled by up to 120mm in some locations. When the Geotech Engineer is satisfied that the site has settled to an acceptable level the pre-load mound will be removed and the construction of the building can commence. The amount of settlement that is occurring on this site is proof that geotechnical investigations and measures are critical in insuring that a site will be fit for purpose. Monitoring surveys are an important part in this process so that all parties can be informed as to what is occurring on site.
Pre-load mound
Monitoring rod
