St. Clair Park – Retaining Wall and Parking Lot
The construction of the St. Clair Park Retaining Wall and Parking Lot involved the demolition of three existing structures, the placement of a 17-foot high drilled caisson, cantilever, soldier pile and lagging retaining wall; and paving and marking of an at-grade parking lot.
The buildings on the project site were circa 1940 and therefore an asbestos survey was performed and a removal plan was incorporated into the specification. Due to the downtown location of the structure, within 8 feet of Maple Avenue which has a traffic count of over 5,000 vehicles per day, a non-conventional, non-intrusive retaining wall was necessary.
St. Clair Memorial Park, a Historic Landmark which includes a cemetery dating to the 18th century, borders the project. A decorative fence, which covers the perimeter of the park, was continued at the top of the retaining wall and additional “green space” added to keep the aesthetic appearance the site enjoys. Due to the proximity of the park, it was also necessary to take great precaution not to disturb the valuable, cultural resource. This was done by the installation of additional piles and lagging, rather than grading the land, along the park to maintain the original conditions at the site.
