Trinity levees, Calatrava bridge in Dallas have serious problems

What The Dallas Morning News won’t tell you, but the Dallas Observer has, is that the Trinity River levees appear to have some serious problems.

Serious problems with drilling a pier for the Calatrava bridge. Serious problems with pouring the concrete for it.

The full Corps of Engineers report has details. Here’s something pulled out by an Observer reader:

"During the drilling of piers for Bent 6 (located 300' from the wet side toe of the west levee), the contractor reported that large quantities of sand in the formation liquefied even though slurry was being used to hold the excavation open. The liquefaction was so extensive that it destabilized the area within a 20' radius of the 7-foot diameter pier. This area had to be backfilled in order to be able to support the drill. When drilling resumed, a casing was used to support the excavation. However, the bottom of the pier heaved and blew out. The pier excavation was finally completed using both casing and slurry. During concrete placement, the contractor was unable to remove the casing with a 200-ton crane, so it remains a permanent fixture within the Floodway."

The story gets worse from there. Can they even place piers properly to build the bridge at all?

Former Mayor Ron Kirk is hopping mad about the delays. Hey Ron, try looking at the report first. Remember levees in a place called New Orleans four years ago?