NANCY CREEK TUNNEL
Report as of May, 10, 2002

This is the second Report on the above subject. Should you wish to receive the first, please e-mail me with that request. As before, I am reporting events to the best of my recollection and I will try to differentiate when I am offering an opinion. This Report may not be the position of the Technical Advisory Committee nor the City of Atlanta. 

Three important things emerged at our May 10, 2002 meeting. The first was that the contractor, Obayashi Corporation, based its bid on simultaneously tunneling from the R. M. Clayton plant toward the Roswell Road Access Shaft and from the Johnson's Ferry Road Access Shaft, again towards Roswell. The contractor's logic was that both Tunnel Boring Machines would be fully employed and would finish at the same moment, thus giving them a better chance at meeting the scheduled completion date in August, 2005. This would mean that construction activity at Roswell would be minimized. 

Unfortunately (but also fortunately), Mr. Richard Daniel from the Dekalb Water Authority was present to provide his comments. He observed that this would be a significant departure from what had been represented to Dekalb County officials. Further, it would require a series of public information meetings in Dekalb as well as additional condemnations of Dekalb property owners. The time required for public meetings would endanger the scheduled completion date mandated by the Consent Order and, in my opinion the elected officials in Dekalb not agree to condemnation proceedings of this nature. Thus, our Committee agreed to encourage the City to negotiate with Obayashi to utilize the Roswell Road site. We agreed further that the City should encourage Obayashi to begin at the R. M. Clayton plant and Roswell simultaneously but to bore from Roswell towards RMC for approximately 9,000 feet before turning the Tunnel Boring Machine around and heading towards Johnson's Ferry Road. This way the two machines would be fully employed and the completion schedule could be met. The contractor has indicated that this change from its plan would not cost us any more money and portions of the Tunnel could be brought on-line earlier.

The second item of importance is that Ms. Sarah (Sally) Mills of the City Law Department reported on the plan for easement acquisition. First, the Roswell Road Access Shaft site has been bought but the City is looking into expanding it in a northerly and / or southerly direction. There are 329 easements to be obtained and the vast majority of these are within City limits. (Twenty four lie in unincorporated Fulton and Dekalb.) The City has retained Carr and Associates to perform an appraisal on each of these properties. My understanding is that Dennis Carr is looking at comparable sales that have occurred in the vicinity of the Chattahoochee Tunnel - a deep, large-diameter tunnel that has been under construction in Cobb County for approximately one and one-half years. The plan is to issue letters in mid-June and to conduct 5 or 6 public information meetings in neighborhood homes along the route. These meetings will be attended by a project engineer, a member of the Technical Advisory Committee, and by Council Members Shook, Muller and Norwood, as is applicable.

The third item of importance concerns construction scheduling and activity at the Roswell Road site. If you recall, I reported last time that an average of 19 dump trucks would leave the Roswell site each day. We, as a neighborhood, can influence the City's negotiations with Obayashi as to how this operation is staged. A contractual requirement is that this traffic will be directed north on Roswell Road to I-285. Obayashi originally indicated that they would prefer access out to Roswell Road via Rickenbacker but thanks to our neighbor, Nancy Jones, and Heinz Brodheim of the City, that plan has been abandoned. 

We can encourage the City to negotiate a plan whereby the hauling operation would be conducted 24 hours per day. (I mistakenly reported that the contractor would work 7 days a week - their plan is for a 6 day work-week leaving us with peace on Sundays.) There would be night-time noise associated with this plan. It is likely that the trucks would be loaded with a front-end loader. Noise walls will be installed but the reverse-gear warning signals would likely escape over the wall. 

The second plan would limit night-time operations but here is the trade-off. Since the Tunnel Boring Machine produces a constant stream of material, there is a fixed amount of material that must be removed every day. If for example, we restrict the hauling operation to 12 hours per day, then the truck traffic on Roswell will, at least, double. Additional trucks would probably be needed on top of this figure to account for the delays that they would encounter in both rush-hours. Also, 12 hours of excavated material would have to be stockpiled on-site each night. This will create some noise and would necessitate a more visible stockpile of material and a larger site area to accommodate it. 

I suggest that this be discussed with adjoining residents of the Lakemoore Condominiums, Chastain Reserve, Rosewood Plantation, and Post Chastain Apartments through the North Buckhead Civic Association and that a preference be enunciated to either Council Member Shook or me. We cannot guarantee any given result, but we can make sure that our preference is heard.

More Questions and Answers: 

Q: Other than dump truck traffic, will there be any other construction traffic?

A: Yes! A major item of work will be the lining of the Tunnel with a 1 foot thick layer of concrete. This will take about 2 cubic yards per foot and if the entire Tunnel is lined, that would amount to 88,000 cubic yards. Again, if the concrete is delivered through two access shafts and if the liner is poured over, say 500 days; then that's another 15 trucks per day. The liner will be reinforced with steel and that must be delivered also. And then the forms will have to be brought on-site and removed. A great deal more concrete will also be required to build the access shafts accessory structures and don't forget about the daily travel of the workers. Part of the contract negotiations will involve the adoption of a traffic plan and it is my understanding that the City and Obayashi are working on this now. In any case the issue stands - do we double the intensity of the traffic by halving the hours of access to the site? 

Q: Will the water that is generated in the Tunnel be discharged into Nancy Creek, etc.?

A: No, this water will be pumped into the existing sanitary sewer line and will be treated at RMC before being discharged into the Chattahoochee River. 

Q: Will the City be liable for collateral damage to property? This would include, among other things, seismic damage due to blasting, flood damage, etc.

A: Yes, The City cannot exempt itself from claims that are allowable by law.

Q: When the Tunnel Boring Machine is working beneath my house, will I be able to hear it?

A: I don't know but the Technical Advisory Committee plans on going down into the Chattahoochee Tunnel on May 24th. I will also visit at-surface position of the tunnel face and will listen carefully. I will also report this position so you can listen for yourself but keep in mind that the tunnel face is advances at 30 to 40 feet per day. This also means that the Nancy Creek Tunnel boring will be beneath any given house for 1 - 3 days.

Q: In your last Report, you said that provision for odor elimination would be made at the Intake Shafts. How will this be designed?