Bauer maintains Hoover dyke contract

A Herbert Hoover Dyke maintenance contract has been awarded to Bauer Foundation Corp., the US subsidiary of German-based contracting firm Bauer Spezialtiefbau.

Maintenance work on the 225km long Herbert Hoover Dyke, which surrounds Lake Okeechobee – the largest freshwater lake in Florida, US – has been ongoing since 2007.

Originally built in the 1920s to protect against storm surges and flooding, the Dyke now receives regular maintenance to ensure its structural integrity.

Bauer has previously been involved in the maintenance of several sections of the Herbert Hoover Dyke on behalf of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) prior to this new contract.

In its new agreement, Bauer has been commissioned with the execution of an approximately 13.5km stretch of cut-off wall.

Due to dense soil and the presence of organic materials, this construction phase first requires predrilling using the Kelly drilling and continuous flight auger method before the actual cut-off wall can be produced using the cutter soil mixing method.

In this method the characteristics of cut-off wall technique and the mixed-in-place method – where the existing soil is used as aggregate – are combined. The subsoil is also stabilised using jet grouting.

As well as the cut-off wall, Bauer has also been commissioned with carrying out earth works, inspection bores and bridge installations.

Andrew Ebendick, project manager at Bauer Foundation Corp., said, “We are very pleased with the renewed collaboration and the confidence that USACE continues to have in our work.”

The work for this subsection started in September 2019 and is expected to be completed by August 2022.