Rausch self-performed 100% of the work for this project. Construction began with demolition of the existing sheet pile wall.  The existing wall had collapsed as was no longer properly retaining the soil behind the wall. Rausch then installed 2,500 sf of PZ 35 steel sheet piling.  After the sheet pile installation, the area behind the sheet piling and the bridge abutment was filled with a flowable backfill mix.  Finally, 180 tons of rip rap was placed on the east and west banks to prevent damage to the sheet pile retaining walls.

Several unique challenges were encountered by the Rausch forces during this project.   For instance, the total length of each sheet pile to be installed was 45 ft.  However, as the clearance from the underside of the bridge and the riverbed was only 20 ft, Rausch needed to drive shorter sheet pile sections and splice them together.

The overhead railroad bridge remained active throughout the entire construction operation.  To ensure that Rausch’s strict safety standards were met and that no construction activities interrupted the train schedule, material was transported by barge to the project site.  Also, all work was performed from the water side with equipment staged on the barges.