LBReport.com

News

Engineering Report Identifies Alternatives To Spraying Concrete on Bluffs But Doesn't Recommend Removing It Where It's Already Been Sprayed; Council To Discuss On July 1





(June 27, 2014) -- On July 1, the Long Beach City Council is scheduled to discuss a peer review report/engineering analysis on alternatives to spraying concrete ("shotcrete") on LB's bluffs to address erosion and seismic issues.

LBREPORT.com provides access to the report in full below.

Long Beach CA staff report on bluff stabilization alternatives

In an accompanying counter-point/opinion piece on LBREPORT.com (click here), the report is criticized by Gordana Kajer, the veteran Long Beach beach/shoreline protection advocate whose April public comment presentation to the City Council, displaying photos of the "shotcrete" work (admittedly uncompleted), led Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal and Gary DeLong (joined by Councilmembers O'Donnell, Schipske and Austin) to call a special April 29 Council meeting which produced a 7-0 vote (Andrews absent, Garcia leaving during Council item) to pause the work until receiving the peer review/engineering report.

The July 1 city staff agendizing memo accompanying the report states:

The peer-review committee has identified feasible geotechnical alternatives to shotcrete for areas that do not currently have the shotcrete treatment; however, these alternatives must be further evaluated and professionally designed by an experienced engineer and landscape architect. The committee does not recommend the removal of shotcrete to implement these biotechnical alternatives. As detailed on page 12 in the peer-review report, removal of shotcrete may impact the integrity of the soil nails, and would require extreme care and labor intensive effort. In addition, "the shotcrete was placed directly on the slope face; removal of the shotcrete will inevitably remove some of the soils on the slope face that adhere to the shotcrete, which will reduce stability of the slope."

The alternative options to shotcrete discussed in the peer-review report, consist of biotechnical techniques that have been used in recent years to improve slope faces. While biotechnical techniques may be more aesthetically pleasing than walls or shotcrete, biotechnical techniques require significantly more maintenance. However, biotechnical techniques, alone, do not provide the necessary deep-seated stability and, as such, they cannot be used as a substitute to soil nails.

A cost and schedule estimate to implement a biotechnical alternative to shotcrete is currently being developed for those areas that have received soil nails (but not shotcrete). Although not recommended, a cost and schedule estimate is also being developed to remove shotcrete from areas that have received the treatment. These estimates will be provided during the City Council meeting, or earlier, if available...

FISCAL IMPACT

The final fiscal impact for the delay and next steps cannot be determined until further direction is received from the City Council. Upon receiving further direction on the Project, staff will return to the City Council, if necessary, to request an amendment to the contract and/or increase appropriations in the Tidelands Operations Fund (TF 401) for the Project.



blog comments powered by Disqus

Follow LBReport.com w/

Twitter

RSS

Facebook

Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com



Need A Plumber, NOW? DrainPros Does It All; Click This Text To See Their Many Services AND Click Below To See Their Current Specials







Click for VIDEO and see how Diversified Threat Management private security can help protect your neighborhood and your business. Affordable group rates available.





Adoptable Furry Family Member








Carter Wood Floors
Hardwood Floor Specialists
Call (562) 422-2800 or (714) 836-7050




Return To Front Page

Contact us: mail@LBReport.com


Copyright © 2014 LBReport.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Terms of Use/Legal policy, click here. Privacy Policy, click here