INSTALLATION OF FLEXIBLE SNOW NET STRUCTURES ALONG I-90 SNOQUALMIE PASS WASHINGTON

摘要

HI-TECH Rockfall Construction is currently constructing the largest avalanche barrier project ever undertaken in the U.S. These nets range from 3 meters in height up to 4 meters in order to control avalanches along I-90 in Washington State. In all HI-TECH will ins 1229 meters of snow nets. The project consists of 322 meters 4.0/3.5 nets, 278 meters of 3.5/3 nets and 651 meters of 3.0/3.2 nets. These nets are installed at 4 different locations along the highway corridor. The major requirement for the contract provided explicitly for the snow net designed in full accordance with the Swiss Guidelines for snow supporting structures and approved by the WSL. The design team included Kane Geo-Tech, Maccaferri, HI-TECH Rockfall and Dr. Ing. Roberto Castalidini, consultant from Italy. The major challenges for construction of the flexible snow nets were the very rough and unev terrain and the lack of access to where the nets were to be constructed and adverse drilling conditions. The snow nets required very high anchor loads due to the abnormal snow pressure and heavy snow density of 400 kg/m2 that we see at this location. With the use of specialized drill rigs and a helicopter HI-TECH's highly skilled employees were able to overcome the challenges and construct the flexible snow nets on budget and on time.