Ripley Street Apartments, Silver Spring, MD
Steele Foundation crews along with McKinney Drilling were recently installing the excavation support systems at the new 20-story, 385-unit Ripley Street Apartment building in Silver Spring, MD. The project includes one to two below-grade stories and required earth retention. While many sheeting systems in the DC area are installed with cranes and pile hammers, the project’s ground conditions required pre-drilling for soldier beam installation. Tiebacks were used on three sides of the excavation with the fourth side using continuous wales and internal steel bracing. The adjacent parking structure to the north was built on deep foundations allowing for the use of an economical and flexible soldier beam and lagging system. Initially, a stiffer, more costly tangent pile wall was considered.