OWNER:
Atlantic Land Corporation
660 Dunlap Drive
Mobile, Alabama 36652

PROJECT ENGINEER:
Southern Earth Sciences, Inc.
P.O. Box 160745
Mobile, Alabama 36616

DESIGN/CONSTRUCT CONTRACTOR:
Synergy Earth Systems, Inc.
26240 Equity Drive
Daphne, Alabama 36526

Atlantic Land Corporation operates a dredge disposal facility that borders Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. In 1998, hurricane Georges struck the Gulf Coast and caused major erosion damage to containment dikes at the facility. At that time, Synergy Earth Systems, Inc. (SES) designed and constructed a temporary emergency repair to allow scheduled dredging operations to be performed. In order to allow future use of the facility, a more permanent dike repair was needed.

Soil borings and survey information was collected at the site and SES initiated design of a permanent repair. Since the dredge disposal facility had a limited remaining useful life, consideration was given in the design to possible future expansion. Various alternatives were evaluated and the most economically feasible option was to construct a soil reinforced toe berm with riprap toe protection. The presence of the toe berm would allow for future construction of an additional 10-foot high dike on top of the existing dikes that would increase the capacity of the facility.

In August 2000, Atlantic Land Corporation authorized SES to construct approximately 2,500 linear feet of reinforced soil toe berm to repair the previous hurricane damage. Soil reinforcement was utilized to construct the toe berm with a 1V on 1H slope to prevent encroachment into adjacent wetlands. The steep slope was then protected with riprap armor to prevent erosion damage from wave action. The exterior dike slope was reconstructed in the repair area and protected from surface erosion by seeding and installing an erosion blanket. In addition to the berm construction, the existing weir box was removed and replaced. Also, interior diversion dikes were also designed and constructed in order to control flow for more efficient operation during dredging. Soil reinforcement was utilized to construct the interior diversion dikes on the soft dredge fill materials in the disposal facility. The repair work has been successfully completed and the facility is ready for use