Chicago Road Project, 2015
A portion of a new route for Elston Avenue along with the revised intersection at Damen and Fullerton Avenues went through an old scrap yard near the iconic Vienna Beef Plant. Soil samples documented hazardous levels of lead in the soil and debris; expected transport and disposal prices of soil with hazardous levels of lead approach $200 per ton.
We worked with the owner, Chicago DOT, their engineers, and the RW Dunteman, the general contractor to successfully implement a chemical conditioning process to stabilize the lead in the soil. In a total of 5 weeks, we successfully rendered 7,000 tons of high lead soil to below nonhazardous criteria and subsequently disposed the soil locally for total costs 50% lower than hazardous disposal.