By: Zeke Cullen, Edward D’Armiento (PM), Sean Lockier & Francis Van Cleve
Advisers: Dr. V. Krstic & Dr. M. Horst
McGill’s Residence project is located at the McGill’s property in Tewksbury, New Jersey. The family has experienced significant cracking in their driveway along with flooding in their front yard and basement. These issues underline possible hydrological and geotechnical problems that must be rectified. The driveway on the property was built next to a grass slope which has over time shifted and caused significant transverse cracking in the driveway. Additionally, the family’s front yard and basement are prone to flooding during and after significant rain events. A drainage system or collection basin will be considered to ameliorate the front yard flooding. However, the cause of the basement flooding is still being investigated and may be beyond the scope of our investigation. Tasks completed during Senior Project I include: surveying of the site, performance of a soil boring, creation of a topographic map, and the installation of a monitoring well. Additionally, soil samples have been tested for moisture contents, clay contents, and grain size distribution. The soil was found to contain 46% clay, with a maximum water content of 31.5% and ground water table located at a depth of 20 feet. In Senior Project II, the soil analysis data will be used to create design solutions for the driveway cracking. The bearing capacity of the soil beneath the driveway will be investigated along with other potential solutions such as a retaining wall. Finally, the gathered hydrological data will be used to create design solutions to remedy the flooding problem.