Little over a year after eight classic Corvettes were swallowed up by the infamous sinkhole, the company that helped fill it is being formally recognized for its efforts.
Local engineering firm EnSafe was issued the award by the Tennessee chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC).
While many of us would assume a backhoe and some dirt would do the job, it seems the effort of filling such a massive hole is actually a lot more complicated than simply dumping in the dirt.
Ric Federico, Senior Project Manager in the Bowling Green, Kentucky office of EnSafe, Inc., said the company was recognized, “For our work in mapping the cave without drilling into it from the surface, the EnSafe NCM microgravity project was entered into the Surveying and Mapping Technology category where it won the Grand Award.”
The company provided support during the initial response phase and then had to go to work designing a “microgravity survey”: mapping the extent of the hole and identifying other potential areas in the Skydome where similar sinkholes could form.
A geotechnical firm is currently finalizing the installation of micropiles– high-strength steel elements that are buried in the foundation for support– and the entire Skydome refinishing project is set to be complete in July.
With the new support beams in place it seems the NCM can rest assured its Corvettes won’t fall into any more holes any time soon.
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