Geotechnology and Materials of St Anthony’s Court Is Situated on the Northern Bank of the River Tyne Within the Suburb.

Brief Preliminary Source Study and Ground Investigation Plan

Background

1. Introduction:

St Anthony’s Court is situated on the northern bank of the River Tyne within the suburb of the Walker, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The site is situated roughly 3.8km on the east-southeast from the Newcastle upon Tyne city Centre. Moreover, the site is on a slope, with occasional benches of flatter ground. St Anthony Count was constructed in the year 1993 possessing modern with a warm, friendly atmosphere. It has three-storey building with the open wheelchair friendly passageways that provide 28 double-bedroom apartments for individuals above 55 years. There is a communal lounge at the St Anthony’s Court with a large garden at the rear side which has well-maintained lawns and corresponding bordering of shrubs. There is a new residential tower block that ought to be constructed at St Anthony’s, Newcastle upon Tyne. St Anthony’s House is deemed to be a multi-storey block, which possesses 90 properties situated near to the river. The location has a 24-hour concierge founded within the ground floor of the block. There exist two churches of St Anthony within Walker namely Church of England in the Belmont Street that is near Pottery Bank, and Roman Catholic situated at Church Street on the Welbeck Road. Moreover, Longbenton is deemed to be the initial eccliastical district as the church and Walker were farmland prior to mining and supplementary industries commenced before the 1840s.

The plan of the site also entails restructuring of the primary school provision within the area. The number of surplus places has escalated significantly and the proposed location of new is geared towards merging the schools.

2. Site Address:

The site is situated on the northern bank of the River Tyne within the suburb of the Walker, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

3. Project Description:

The subject site forms part of the northern bank of the River Tyne Bend urban renewal project. It will include, housing, apartments, commercial centers, retail area, public open space, schools, community centers, and employment precincts and the conservation of Aboriginal and European heritage features.

The site is situated roughly 3.8km on the east-southeast from the Newcastle upon Tyne city Centre. Moreover, the site is on a slope, with occasional benches of flatter ground, and consists of numerous flat geological formations. Originally, the land was low lying and prone to flooding.

4. The scope of works for St Anthony’s Court Construction will include:

• removal of contaminated soil;
• excavation of soil for civil works infrastructure of roads, drainage, and services;
• preparation of lots for housing development;
• protection of sites of cultural significance;
• protection of heritage-listed dwellings; and
• introduction of water sensitive urban design for stormwater management;

5. Existing Site conditions:

The land is relatively flat and contains a range of industrial uses. Because of previous land use, it has a gradual slope from north to south downstream and the soil is heavy basalt soil which retains moisture and swells in the wetter months and dries and cracks in the drier months.

6. Flooding:

St Anthony’s Court is situated on the northern bank of the River Tyne within the suburb of the Walker, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Ground levels vary from one to four metres above sea level. Significant parts of the urban renewal area are vulnerable to inundation in tidal events. Moreover, the area is known for the regular flooding of streets due to capacity constraints in the underground drainage system.

7. Land contamination

As typically found in former industrial land within Walker, industrial land use has impacted the quality of soils in Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bend. Preliminary desktop assessments indicate that elements such as heavy metals and solvents may be widespread across Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bend. The problem particularly within the region asbestos contamination in open space in the religion. There is also a substantial category of waste dumps of numerous kinds, including landfill sites. The dumping of waste materials at the site is generally visible, and tend to create public concern. Also, there were huge quantities of contaminated silt scooped out from the river Tyne coupled with the toxic waste dredged from docks as well as slipway areas along the Tyne and, dumped offshore within the land.

Because of the history of the site and to protect the health of its future communities, detailed site assessments need to be made to catalog any contamination and implement appropriate remediation or site management plans to meet environmental performance requirements. Any land contamination will be addressed as part of the planning and development application process and comprehensively managed through Newcastle’s environmental regulatory framework.

8. Groundwater contamination

A regional groundwater study has typically confirmed elevated levels in terms of nutrients, salts as well as metals at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bend. Groundwater problem is deemed to be the presence within a higher volume than the unanticipated presence of the water during the tunneling. The presence as well as the movement of the water strongly influences ground behavior, develops a prerequisite for handling as well as impacts on labor and equipment productivity, and thus the entire cost of the project. Because of the previous land utilization activities. Future development will require to cater for remediation and ongoing management of groundwater in a bid to satisfy environmental requirements.

10. Geotechnical conditions

A study has typically revealed key geotechnical issues and constraints within Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bend. These issues and constraints vary across Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bend and include:

• Variable strength, quality as well as the thickness of the fill soils

• Weak nature of the near-surface soils coupled with the considerable depth to reach appropriate founding strata for piles

• Variable levels of differential settlement caused by the underlying ongoing secondary consolidation of the silt

• Potential to trigger the consolidation of the river silt if the groundwater table is lowered during construction

11. Environmental issues for management:

Heritage buildings;

Heritage-listed trees;

A site of cultural significance to the Aboriginal people;

Protection of shell middens;

Management of stormwater flow to manage to flood;

Staged release of residential land; and

Removal of contaminated soil

Part 2: Construction material considerations

Historically, St Anthony in the Newcastle upon Tyne was that Longbenton that was deemed to be the initial eccliastical district as the church and Walker was farmland prior to mining and supplementary industries commenced before the 1840s. The land was also used as the city centre.

The concerns regarding the interaction between the current ground conditions and the proposed Portland cement-based concrete foundations is worrying as there are myriad activities that should be undertaken before the commencement of the construction of the proposed project. The activities entail removal of contaminated soil, excavation of soil for civil works infrastructure of roads, drainage, and services; as well as the preparation of numerous housing development. Other processes that ought to be undertaken entails protection of sites of cultural significance; protection of heritage-listed dwellings; and introduction of water sensitive urban design for stormwater management.

Process of Removal of contaminated soil in Portland cement-based concrete foundation at St Anthony in the Newcastle upon Tyne entails identification of the unacceptable risk to human health as well as the environment. In a bid to discharge the removal of the contaminated condition, sufficient information will be submitted in order to show the potential risks that have been identified and examined.

Chemical reactions that could adversely affect the engineering performance of the building foundations on the site will lead to the contamination of groundwater. The wash water is typically alkaline and contains elevated levels of the chromium, which is capable of leaching into the ground and consequently contaminating groundwater at St Anthony in the Newcastle upon Tyne. Moreover, wash water can also migrate to a storm drain that can also escalate the underlying pH of location waters as well as harm aquatic life. The improperly disposed of solids can lead to clogging of the storm drain pipes thus causing flooding. Nevertheless, installing concrete washout facilities can aid in the prevention of pollution and act as an effective way of maintaining good housekeeping at the construction site.

Concrete wastewater ought to be disposed of appropriately through installing concrete washout, which is utilized to contain concrete coupled with liquids when the underlying chutes of concrete mixers as well as the hoppers of the concrete pumps are cleaned out subsequent to the delivery. The washout typically aids in the facilitation of the consolidate solids for relatively easier disposal and thus preventing runoff of liquids

Cement wastewater is deemed to be equivalent to toxic waste. Lime is also a chief element of cement and is found in entire concrete products. When lime dissolves in water it leads to the production of an alkaline solution that is capable of burning and killing fish, insects as well as plants. Moreover, when water mix with unset concrete as well as concrete dust they swiftly escalate alkalinity that is highly toxic to the aquatic life in the location around St Anthony in the Newcastle upon Tyne. Concrete wastewater also causes burns and will easily kill numerous fish thus concrete slurry ought not to be permitted to enter the stormwater system.