Geotechnical Services
Geotechnical Engineering is the use of scientific principles to describe the behavior of soil and rock under loading conditions for design, construction, and operation of engineered systems such as roads, bridges, buildings, and dams. This multi-disciplinary effort involves the testing of materials to determine the strength, compressibility, and permeability parameters, and applying these parameters to design methods known as soil mechanics. Madrid Engineering Group, Inc. can solve many design problems by expert use of these behavioral models to predict behavior and mitigate against undesired results. In addition to soil and rock, geotechnical engineering now includes the understanding, interaction, and application of a host of man-made materials, such as geotextiles, geogrids, wick drains, and mechanically stabilized earth retaining structures. MEG has expertise in the following built systems:
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Solids Waste Facilities – CD&D and Class I Municipal Landfills
- Natural Systems – Lakes and Land Reclamation
Transportation Facilities – Roadway and Bridges
SR 29 Geotechnical Roadway Soil Survey, Deep Lake to Everglades City – FDOT District One - MEG was the lead geotechnical engineering consultant for the design phase of this project, completing hundreds of soil borings for a roadway widening project through an environmentally sensitive area.
Triangle Lake Bridge and 540A Extension, Lakeland, Florida - Polk County – MEG provided geotechnical analysis and design of piling for a bridge over a former phosphate pit that had extreme difficult access. The "lake" had a floating vegetation mat approximately 3 feet thick, a few feet of open water, then extremely soft waste phosphatic clays to the bottom of the pit. Final design included analysis of driven 18-inch square concrete pilings including axial and lateral capacity.
Polk Parkway Construction Monitoring – Lakeland – Florida’s Turnpike – MEG assisted in the construction monitoring of the Polk Parkway, a 21-mile limited access toll road. was the project manager for design of a wetlands mitigation bank for the Polk Parkway’s Westerly Section. The mitigation area design had to consider groundwater fluctuations, soil type, infiltration, hydrogeologic modeling results, etc. Mr. Madrid managed a multi-disciplinary team including soil scientists, biologists, hydrogeologists, geotechnical engineers, civil/roadway engineers, drillers, and technicians.
Solids Waste Facilities – CD&D and Class I Municipal Landfills
Central Florida Disposal Class III and C &D Landfill – Ft Meade, Florida – since 1996, MEG has provided geotechnical, hydrogeologic and permitting services on two formerly mined sites for certification as Class III and C&D landfills. Field investigations included soft sediment delineation in three lakes with collection of undisturbed samples, SPT boring, hand augers, muck and slime probes. The work effort has included: geotechnical reports for slope stability analysis, soil profiles, boring location, as well as hydrogeological evaluations, stormwater management systems, operations plans and preparation of financial assurance estimates. These services included new permits, permit renewals, cell construction and landfill closure certifications.
Polk County Northeast Landfill Expansion - Polk County, Florida - MEG provided geotechnical services for the design of this 75-acre expansion, as well as construction monitoring services for installation of liner materials and construction of all associated roads and utilities.
Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities
County Road 54/Polk/Toho Interconnect Facility, Polk County, Florida - Madrid Engineering was the geotechnical engineer for this water supply interconnect between Polk County and Osceola County. The facility includes above ground water storage tanks 75 feet in diameter, and the facility was located on a parcel that had a high potential for sinkhole behavior. MEG assisted with the design of a foundation system that would mitigate against a sinkhole occurrence.
Mulberry WWTP Expansion Project, Mulberry, Florida - MEG assisted the City and their Engineer of Record with a preliminary geotechnical assessment of land owned by the City and adjacent to their existing wastewater treatment facility. The adjacent land was previously mined for phosphate, and was extremely variable, including the possibility of encountering waste phosphatic clay deposits and/or very loose sand and sandy clay. Recommendations included an extensive exploration plan prior to expanding the facilities.
Foundation Design, Lakeland Christian Church, Lakeland, Florida – MEG provided detailed geotechnical support for the design of a church facility on a site that included a former disposal site for porcelain tile Due to organics and broken tile, the excavate and replace method and deep dynamic compaction were used to stabilize portions of the site.
Clark & Daughtrey Medical Center, Lakeland, Florida - MEG provided geotechnical engineering for the design team working on a new 45,000 SF, 3-story medical clinic on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland. The project construction cost is estimated at $10 million. Column loads are estimated as high as 250 kips, however, in spite of heavy loading, MEG was able to help save time and money by designing shallow foundations.
Holiday Inn Express, Bartow, Florida - MEG designed foundations and assisted in parking and stormwater aspects of the construction of this brand new hotel on US98. The Holiday Inn is a 3-story building, and the site was very small, requiring the use of underground vaults to store and exfiltrate stormwater beneath the pavement of the parking lot.
MEG has completed hundreds of geotechnical investigation and design projects in residential communities throughout central Florida, such as Stoney Pointe and Christina in Lakeland, and Taylor Landing in Bartow. MEG has used individual columns/pedestal foundations, spread footings, pilings, monolithic slabs, post-tensioned slabs, stemwalls, and other foundation types to provide adequate, low cost foundations for houses. In addition, MEG has assisted homeowners with remedial plans for foundations that have settled excessively due to buried debris, waste phosphatic clay consolidation, settlement of loose sands, and decay of organic sediments.
Stormwater Pond Design, Seminole County – Florida’s Turnpike – MEG completed auger borings, double ring Infiltration testing, SPT borings and a foundation design for a temporary construction office building and associated stormwater pond for the Seminole Parkway. Pond design included a mounding and recovery analysis using MODRET software.
Surface Water Permitting, Limestone Processing Facility, Mulberry, Florida - Provided design of retention pond to hold 100-year storm event on-site. Design challenges included soft, unsuitable soils, wetlands, and other environmental liabilities.
Foundation Design, Industrial Ball Mill, Polk County, Florida - MEG designed foundations for a heavily loaded industrial process facility associated with phosphate mining and phosphoric acid production. Loads were as high as 250 tons per footing.
Natural Systems – Lakes and Land Reclamation
Construction Monitoring for Florida Land Reclamation, Bartow - MEG monitored reclamation of a phosphate-mined parcel during earthwork phase; coordinated land-surveying requirements, checked elevations, and determined the overall efficiency of earthmoving activities. In addition, MEG has the capability to design and manage all aspects of mined land reclamation including permitting, surveying, landform design, cut-fill materials balance, and management of all earthmoving, revegetation, and establishment stages.Lake Hancock Sediment Analysis, Bartow, Florida - MEG completed nearly 200 sampling and depth probes in this 5300 acre lake to determine the consistency, thickness and lateral extent of organic sediments that have accumulated and affected the water quality, which is among the worst in the State of Florida. Based on extensive testing and evaluation, it was determined that there is currently 26 million cubic yards of sediment in the lake. In addition to the analyses, innovative recommendations were made to Polk County Natural Resources Division to remove the sediment cost effectively.