Wenzel Engineering, Inc. - Structural Engineers

St Cloud Hospital

To construct an expansion for the St. Cloud Hospital, temporary retaining walls were needed to support the foundations of adjacent buildings. Because the noise and vibration of pile driving might disrupt hospital activities, a less invasive approach was sought.

Wenzel Engineering Inc. designed a system of retaining walls using Haward Baker, Inc.'s Ground Modification technologies, which create in situ cemented formations. The walls supported both existing buildings and 25 vertical feet of retainied soil.

To support one corner directly adjacent to the expansion, retaining walls were constructed using jet grout Soilcrete columns supported horizontally by soil nails. At two other locations, sloping concrete retaining walls were constructed from the top down in four-foot strips, using a combination of shotcrete and soil nailing.