Sauls Seismic monitored 14 different locations in and around Boston Harbor.
As part of the Boston Harbor Deep Draft Navigation Improvement Project (BHDDNIP) undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide deeper access for cargo shipments to Boston, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) was required to create two deep-water berths at Conley Terminal with a minimum depth of 50 feet. Sauls Seismic worked with Maine Drilling and Blasting on this unique project from December, 2018 to February 2019.
Sauls used Nomis Seismographs to provide monitoring in 14 different locations. Some of the more difficult monitoring locations were two borehole installations. Holes were drilled to elevations of -52’ and -62’ where the transducers were planted and then grouted into place. The deeper installation was monitoring the bedrock that the existing berth piles are tied into and the other was monitoring a power cable that runs through the middle of the channel to an island landfill.
Additional interesting installations included five transducers that were located below high tide. Two were mounted under the concrete structure of the existing berth, two mounted on piles that were on the side of the berth, and one in a culvert. Installing these was particularly tricky because the tide couldn’t be too high or too low. Too high and the installations would be underwater, too low and the installations could not be reached by boat. All five installations used extended cables running to enclosures on the berth.
Another interesting installation was in a neighborhood located about a block from the tavern in the movie Good Will Hunting.
Additionally, we trained the blaster how to use a hydrophone for each blast supplied by DRW Associates. The hydrophone was lowered into the water to monitor underwater pressure changes to help insure safe levels for fish and other underwater wildlife.
