ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 3, Winter 1997 Page: 2
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Page 2 EN Vision Winter 1997
El Paso finds solutions to challenges
of multi-phase Doniphan Dr. projectContinued from Page 1
the project even more," Ramsey said.
The next obstacle was the area's high
water table, with water found as close as
three feet below the surface along
Doniphan Drive. Since sewer line
installation requires trenching to a depth
of between 10 and 17 feet, this caused an
immediate problem. A dewatering process
was started, where ground water that
seeped into the trenches was pumped into
the nearby Rio Grande. This appeared to
solve the problem, but it was not to be that
simple.
Terry Dempsey, an environmental
quality specialist in ENV's Hazardous
Materials Branch, relates some of the
challenges the district faced.
"It turned out that the ground water
being pumped into the Rio Grande, at
rates of up to 2,000 gallons a minute, had
a very high natural salt content, resulting
in a high concentration of total dissolved
solids (TDS). The ground water along
Doniphan Drive has TDS readings greater
than 2,500 PPM of TDS - the maximum
level allowed by the local irrigation
district. An agreement with the irrigation
district had to be worked out, calling for
frequent monitoring and placing limits on
discharge during the irrigation season"
Dempsey said.
The dewatering process brought
charges by local citizens, since ruled
unsubstantiated by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, that the pumping of
groundwater was draining a nearby
wetland and waterfowl habitat.
A gas station with leaking petroleum
storage tanks proved to be an additional
obstacle to Phase II of the project.
Polluted soil and groundwater had to be
dealt with.
Dempsey said, "A portable wastewater
treatment facility was brought in to treat
the contaminated water before it was
pumped into the river. Soil contaminated
with levels of gasoline too low to be a
threat to construction workers or the
public was reused as backfill on the
project, as authorized by the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission
(TNRCC). The contractor had to be
careful not to spread contaminants to clean
areas. The City of El Paso was
instrumental in spearheading these reuse4N
-'-
What is now a barbecue restaurant was formerly a service station and
turned out to have sub-surface contamination from buried petroleum
storage tanks. El Paso District Photoefforts, which kept the project moving and
saved disposal costs without aggravating
the contamination problem."
Two more former service stations with
potentially leaking underground petroleum
storage tanks await Phase III of the
project. In addition, two dry cleaners
located along the right of way have
leaking underground chlorinated solvent
tanks - chemicals used in the dry cleaning
process.
A new technology, called "jet grouting"
will be used by TxDOT for the first time
to contain the chlorinated solvent
pollutants. This process will involve
injecting a clay slurry into the soil, which
binds with the soil to form an
impermeable "wall" around the solvent.
This barrier will prevent the contaminants
from "migrating" elsewhere, as they are
apt to do when groundwater is being
pumped out. With the assistance of
TxDOT's environmental consultant,
Entrix, Inc., and ENV's Hazardous
Materials Branch, the specifications for
this complicated phase and the application
process for a temporary waste water
discharge permit from TNRCC are well
under way.
Historic preservation issues became
part of the equation for Phase III when a
house on Doniphan Drive was found to be
listed on the National Register of Historic
Places. Tom Eisenhour, a historic architect
with ENV's Historical and Socioeconomic
Studies Branch, explains.
"A Pueblo Revival House, a rareexample dating to circa 1935, was found
on the corner of Doniphan Drive and
Sunset Drive. Because of the house's
status on the National Register, we had to
be very careful that the road project would
not have a negative affect on the building.
The structure sits just outside the right of
way. To continue the project as planned,
we had to prove to the folks at the Texas
Historical Commission that the building
would not be physically impacted by the
road" Eisenhour said.
James McDonald, the Project Engineer
with TxDOT's El Paso District, sees the
road improvements from yet another
perspective.
McDonald said, "The biggest challenge
during the construction phase has been
dealing with inaccurate maps that are
supposed to show the location of utilities
(water and gas mains). These maps are at
least 50 years old, and do not reliably
show their location. With all the
excavating going on, we certainly don't
want to break one of these. One thing that
has made this project go as smoothly as it
has is the partnering process, begun about
three years ago as a way for TxDOT and
its contractors to work through problem
areas together in a cooperative spirit
instead of the sometimes adversarial
relationship that existed at times before
partnering."
If Phase III contract is awarded as
scheduled in May 1998, the project should
be completed sometime in mid-1999.4
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Texas. Department of Transportation. ENVision, Volume 3, Issue 3, Winter 1997, periodical, Winter 1997; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth606766/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.