Sheeting Guide Frame System Used During Highway Lane Widening Project

A Southwest Florida municipality was expanding its highway infrastructure with a lane widening project to account for recent growth.  As part of that highway widening project, the municipality also needed to upgrade the supporting storm water system. The storm water phase of the project included the installation of a storm water box culvert along with supporting infrastructure. The project scope required a 20-ft. linear run, with a width of 30-ft. and an excavation depth of 14-ft. The competent person on site classified the soil as a sandy Type C-60 soil mixture.

The project had several challenges including the proximity to an existing highway.  The contractor would need to select a protective system that provided proactive support to minimize soil disturbance which could undermine the existing roads.  When selecting the protective system the contractor would also need to consider the need for an open span system to promote an efficient installation method for the box culvert.

The contractor reviewed several protective solutions for the project, ultimately selecting a Sheeting Guide Frame System.  The Sheeting Guide Frame System was selected as lines would need to be run to the box culvert to help channel storm water.  Sheeting Guide Frame Systems are installed by setting corner posts and threading short steel panels with interior grooves at the top of the excavation.  Steel sheets are then inserted through the interior grooves to the total excavation depth to provide a proactive shoring solution for contractors.  The system helps to accommodate the need for lines crossing into an excavation footprint by locating the sheets around that line. The Sheeting Guide Frame System was supplemented with steel panels, in this particular application, to shore some of the unprotected walls. The contractor was very satisfied with the system’s design and ability to balance the need for an open span system while also providing an efficient way to bring lines into the storm box culvert.