Cantina Laredo [CONT.’D] Chicago, Illinois

[CONT.’D] Another important feat during the course of construction was the soil stabilization. The project site had been cleared of prior buildings in the early 1960s and had been used as surface parking in the intervening years. The foundations and basements of previous 19th century buildings littered the site to a depth of eleven feet; below which was soft Chicago clay.

Excavating the entire site and backfilling with engineered fill was cost prohibitive. The general contractor provided a foundation solution: leave the underlying fill in place and improve the fill layers using vibro-compaction. The entire site was treated in this manner and saved the owner over $140,000.00 and reduced the project schedule by nearly a month.