Meeting the challenge of constructing a uniquely difficult barrier wall

A soil-bentonite vertical barrier wall with intersecting and round corners was constructed in complex geology and steep terrain to enclose and dewater a 1.4 hectare (3.5 acre) area once used for hazardous waste lagoons and landfills at the Queen City Farms (QCF) Superfund site in Maple Valley, Washington. The barrier system, including cap and barrier wall, was designed to contain light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL), in addition to subsurface soil and ground water contaminated with chromium, polychlorinated biphenyls, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride in the dissolved-phase. These contaminants threaten a drinking water aquifer beneath the site. Constructing the vertical barrier was a challenge due to steep slopes of 20 percent along the alignment (19.2 meter elevation change in the top of the wall), a 22.5 meter (75 foot) design wall depth, heavily consolidated clays and silts, open works gravels (gravel without finer soils), and geologic discontinuity. The barrier wall is keyed into either a glacial till or thin clayey-silt aquitard. Extensive earth moving, stepped walls and many construction techniques were used to enable construction of this barrier wall. Commonly accepted constructability criteria would have discouraged the construction of this wall.