Slide Rail System Used For Campus Infrastructure Project

A contractor was extending a drainage tunnel as part of infrastructure support for a growing Texas university.  The contractor would need to excavate 300 lineal feet to a
depth of 12-ft and with a width of 16-ft to accommodate the 10-ft square drainage tunnel.  The contractor had classified the sandy and clay soil as Type C-60 soil.

The excavation site would be within 300-ft of an adjacent street, while a fiber optic duct bank and parking lot would border one side of the parking lot. The contractor would be pouring the tunnel in place and would be performing the pours in approximately 150-ft increments. The contractor would also need the protective system to provide enough vertical clearance to pour the 10-ft tall tunnel with the requisite working room. On the opposite side of the excavation, the university had wanted to limit site disturbances to maintain mature trees on the campus.

The contractor called NTS to discuss protective system options for the project. After a review of the possible system options, the contractor elected to use a linear slide rail system. The linear slide rail system would allow for the positive soil support of the site to prevent compromising the integrity of the adjacent structures, while also providing the necessary vertical clearance to pour the tunnel.  This project was the first time the contractor, as well as the general contractor, had used the slide rail system and both came away very impressed with the system and the production benefits it afforded.