At over 253,000 ft2 (total area), Keller's soil nail wall is believed to be the largest single permanent soil nail wall in North America.
The project
The Texas Rangers baseball organization undertook the construction of Globe Life Field stadium to replace the existing nearby Globe Life Park. Like Globe Life Park, ground conditions at the new stadium site were within the Woodbine Formation composed of sands, clays, sandstones, shales, and alluvium deposits. The maximum excavation depth was 85 ft.
The challenge
The project was on an accelerated schedule to be ready for the 2020 baseball season. Fractures in the rock strata, the presence of very dense boulders requiring partial removal, the relatively corrosive nature of the soils, and the rectilinear perimeter wall design presented significant construction challenges. Also, a sanitary sewer located directly adjacent to the north wall impeded soil nail installation.
The solution
Having completed nearby projects such as AT&T Stadium, Keller was well-equipped to optimize construction methods and the wall design. To alleviate soil nail congestion and crossover at several 90-degree outside wall corners, a hybrid anchored drilled shaft system was used. Automated Motorized Total Stations and Shape Accel Array in-place inclinometers provided continuous real-time horizontal movement monitoring at critical sections during construction. For the north wall, approximately 33,000 ft2 of anchored drilled shafts installed overcame the challenge posed by the sanitary sewer line.
Fellow Keller company, Geo-Instruments, was on-site providing real-time monitoring.
