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SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Leighton and Associates, Inc. (Leighton) wins the Honors Award in the Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California (CELSOC) 2008 Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition in recognition of achieving outstanding, innovative geotechnical engineering for the Whispering Hills development project in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. The annual statewide competition called for project entries in 10 different categories. Among its design engineer and land surveying competitors this year, Leighton was the only Honors Award recipient for a land development project. “It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award,” said Michael Stewart, PG, CEG, principal geologist and vice president of Leighton and Associates, Inc., who accepted the award on behalf of the firm at a special awards banquet in Sacramento on Feb. 11. “The Leighton team worked hard in developing the engineering recommendations for the now safe and stable community, utilizing a combination of engineering techniques rarely seen on one job site.” Whispering Hills is now home to the city’s first high school, San Juan Hills High School, which opened its doors to its first freshmen class in September 2007. The site will also provide for a future affluent residential community which will have open spaces for equestrian and hiking trails. The development will include 145 single-family luxury homes, and an upscale, 200-unit apartment complex. Prior to development, the 353-acre parcel was bisected by two canyon areas with natural steep slopes, and lay fallow for years.
“When we began our services with a preliminary site investigation five years before grading began, our team identified 21 large ancient landslides,” said project geologist Brian Olson, PG, CEG. “Combine this with significantly steep slopes, high-voltage transmission power lines that crossed and bordered the site, and requirements to preserve the natural ridgeline – we knew we would be facing difficult design and construction challenges.” With comprehensive geologic mapping, cross sections, contour maps and additional investigations during construction, Leighton developed an engineered design of major earthen buttresses and the incorporation of geogrid reinforcement to provide a series of stable, steep slopes while protecting natural ridgelines. The buttresses were supported by an astounding 478 tiebacks with the longest at 350 feet in length, several rows of shear pins, and creative grading techniques. Enough to cover 87 football fields, Leighton used nearly 465,000 square yards of geogrid within embankment slopes with the highest slope at 130 feet high. In addition, an extensive system of thousand-foot hydroaugers and miles of canyon subdrains were installed deep within temporary excavations below the canyon bottoms to dewater ancient landslides and minimize future groundwater buildup. All of this was constructed and completed in three and a half years as part of a carefully orchestrated 13-million-cubic-yard grading project, in which Leighton provided the geologic oversight, observation and testing. The proof is in the results. The Whispering Hills development is successfully stable and safe.
For more information, or to set up an interview and/or site tour, please contact Mary Acuña at 949.681.4215 or macuna@leightongroup.com.
Leighton is an elite consulting firm offering environmental, geotechnical, testing, and inspection services to both public and private clients. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Leighton employs nearly 250 employees in 10 offices in major metropolitan areas of southern California, and Arizona. Leighton and its companies include Leighton Group, Inc., the parent company for corporate resources; Leighton and Associates, Inc. for community development projects; Leighton Consulting Inc. for public, transportation and commercial projects; and Leighton GeoScience, Inc. for all project types in Arizona. For more information, please visit www.leightongroup.com.
CELSOC is a statewide association representing 1,200 private consulting engineering and land surveying firms that average 20 employees each. CELSOC is dedicated to enhancing the consulting engineering and land surveying professions, protecting the general public and promoting the use of the private sector in the growth and development of our state. Its members provide services for all phases of planning, designing and constructing projects.
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Contact
Mary Acuña, 949.681.4215
macuna@leightongroup.com
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