Case History

DRIVECAST:  Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology, Queens, NYC

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The Project
Construction of a deep foundation for the new  Vaughn College Cafeteria Addition in the borough of Queens in New York City.

The Situation
​​The construction site had soft soils, gravel and cobble overlying organic silt.  After having minipiles specified by Burns Engineering, deep foundation contractor Chesterfield Associates was looking for a more cost effective, high performance solution.  
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The Solution
​Chesterfield sought a competitive advantage to win the project.   GZA GeoEnvironmental was engaged to create and submit plans that utilize CHANCE DRIVECAST high capacity displacement piles. 

DRIVECAST submission went to Alan Price/Director of Office Technical Certification and Research for NYC Dept. of Buildings.  There were a series of technical questions about the process and a lot of back-and-forth.   Ultimately the approval came when Price submitted the DRIVECAST plans to DOB Borough Commissioner for Queens.
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The Result
​DRIVECAST piles  (RS3500.300, five ft. sections, 3.5" in diameter with a 10/14 stacked paddle) were used to create a minimum 12 inch load bearing grout column. The piles were installed to approx. 30 feet.  100 kips ultimate was needed, 114.6 kips ultimate was achieved. 

Most impressively, there was a cost saving, of both time and money, of 35-40% over the use of minipiles.