FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: John Hall; Neighborhood contact: Creig Brown, 529-5001

New Orleans lock pile-testing to begin

NEW ORLEANS --

What. Driving test pilings for replacement navigation lock on the Industrial Canal in New Orleans. First construction work on $585 million project. It is hoped that the tests will allow reductions of (1) the piles required and (2) the noise of driving them.

Who. Boh Bros. Construction Co. of New Orleans, under a $1.6 million contract to New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Media/photo day. 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 3, 2000. Corps, Boh Bros. and Metro-Source LLC representatives will be on site. Some work will begin Thursday.

Where. In the Industrial Canal, and on its east bank, between North Johnson and North Galvez streets, opposite the Galvez Street Wharf. (Locator map attached.)

How. Barge-mounted equipment will drive conventional piles on land, at canal's edge, and drive piles in the canal by the unusual underwater vibratory method.

Why. Conventional piles will test load-bearing capacity, providing the on-site knowledge needed to reduce the number of piles required in actual construction. Vibratory tests will determine how well noise can be reduced by this method.

How many piles. 7 conventional, 2 vibratory and 48 smaller reaction piles. Reaction piles are used to support testing equipment. The 9 test piles are 5/8-inch thick, 48 inches in diameter and 116-201 feet long. The 48 reaction piles are 24 inches in diameter.

First work. Driving 72-inch-diameter casings, 64 to 78 feet long, for the 7 conventional test piles. Some of the casings will be driven Monday, Jan. 3, 2000.

Hours of work. Daylight hours only for driving piles and casings. Boh Bros. plans to work Monday-Friday, New Year's Eve excepted. Pile driving will take about one month.

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