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be constructed employing the "secant" method. This involves boring 36 inch diameter holes down to bedrock. The holes are filled with concrete after completion. These holes are bored in a circular pattern. The circle then forms the walls of the Shaft. After the concrete has cured, excavation can begin inside the circle. Little blasting, if any, will occur until bedrock is reached and, with the exception of the first several feet, the excavation will be conducted below the surrounding ground surface. At the Roswell Shaft site, the drilling logs indicate that there is soil to a depth of around 100 feet and then a mixture of weathered and fractured rock to a depth beneath the floor of the Shaft. In my opinion, it is probable that no blasting will occur in the first 100 feet and there exists a possibility that there will be little blasting for the balance of the Shaft construction. After the Shaft is constructed, a staging area for the Tunnel Boring Machine will be constructed. This area will be about 300 feet and will be constructed horizontally. Because of the construction techniques involved, I believe that the staging area will be blasted almost in its entirety but this will occur at a depth of 150 feet.
Council Member Mary Norwood reported that she and Council Members Clair Muller and Howard Shook have realized the necessity of formalizing a process for direct neighborhood input on a day-to-day basis as construction proceeds. Therefore, a Citizen's Committee will be established. Two neighbors from the vicinity of each Shaft site (those being the areas of highest impact) will be appointed. The details of the responsibilities and the chain of command of the Citizen's Committee are being established at this time.
The City attorney in charge of easement acquisition, Ms. Sally Mills, reported that, to date in Atlanta, 62 of the 318 easements have been acquired "by agreement". She expects that, ultimately, 70% will be obtained in this fashion leaving 30% that will have to be condemned. In DeKalb, far fewer easements are required and the results look similar.
Several property owners have objected to "waiver language" that is contained in the easement agreement. The easement agreement was adapted from an earlier form and in the haste to get notification out to property owners, the waiver language was not eliminated. This language is not applicable to the Tunnel project and can be struck from the agreement or upon request, the City will issue a modified agreement. Sally
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