|
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Historic Light Station Relocation (1998 – 1999)
After withstanding
nearly 130 years of battering by winds and the
sea, including more than 40 major hurricanes,
the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse confronted its greatest
threat - shoreline erosion and scouring that ultimately
could have undermined the foundation and sent
the tower crashing down. MACTEC's challenge, in
a design/build effort with International Chimney
Corporation, was to relocate the lighthouse and
adjacent historic structures to a site 2,900 feet
to the southwest on this barrier island. The lighthouse
began its journey after nearly a year of planning
and preparation, moving along a specially designed
track and roller system using hydraulic jacks
and an old house movers' trick: Ivory soap. The
soap can be credited as the lubricant for the
track and rollers that, along with careful engineering
and construction planning and design, allowed
progress to exceed expectations. The relocation
was completed in 23 days - moving the lighthouse
more than 200 feet on some days, when the expected
distance per day was approximately 100 feet. The
lighthouse is now safely positioned on its new
foundation, a four foot-thick reinforced concrete
mat measuring 60 feet x 60 feet, and the historic
light station complex is once again open for visitors.
MACTEC Services:
Lead Consulting Engineer under a design / build
contract, including geotechnical, structural,
electrical, materials, and instrumentation engineering;
peer review; hazardous materials and environmental
services; schedule control; and overall project
QA/QC oversight.
Awards:
2000 Engineering
Excellence National Grand Award - Special Projects, American Consulting Engineers
Council
2000 National
Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award - American Society of Civil Engineers
2000 Engineering
Excellence National Award of Honor - Association of Conservation Engineers
2000 Engineering
Excellence Grand Award - Special Projects, American Consulting Engineers
Council, Georgia Chapter
2000 Engineering
Excellence Grand Award - Geotechnical, Special Projects, American Consulting
Engineers Council, North Carolina Chapter
|
