Client: Kraus-Anderson
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Services: Removals, Earth Retention, Excavation, Deep Foundations, Site Utilities

Located immediately to the northeast of Target Field, Hines/North Loop Green III is a bold project which showcases many of Bolander’s capabilities.

Poised to be a hub for mass transit, North Loop Green III sits adjacent to the Cedar Lake Trail, Northstar Rail Line, Minneapolis Bus Lines, and Light Rail. The building is 1 story below grade, has a residential and commercial tower, and connects to the 5^th street bridge on the plaza level. The building footprint straddles the below grade waterway called the Bassett Creek Tunnel, which commanded caution and extreme attention when working in its vicinity.  Given the dense urban surroundings, the project had tight space constraints. The coordination of our work required constant communication with the general contractor. We ensured all requirements and scheduling constraints from surrounding neighbors and other subcontractors were being met. Making sure that we had minimal disturbance to any Target Field events was a priority on this project. These constraints required that Bolander be both efficient and flexible with our scheduling to best serve the project.

Bolander installed earth retention systems along the North, West, and South sides of the project. Our team used a variety of methods for each unique situation:

• H-Pile and lagging retention
• Cantilevered H-pile
• Driven H-Pile
• Drilled and Set H-pile
• Fluted H-Pile
• Tiebacks
• Wales
• Predrilled H-pile
• Internally Braced retention
• Slide rail system trench boxes

While excavating the site to the respective grades, Bolander safely disposed of nearly 20,000 tons of contaminated soil. There were multiple concerns with the existing soils on this site. Bolander was able to navigate the differing soil conditions by:

• Providing a 3’ thick working pad to allow all contractors to efficiently move around the site during construction
• Correcting soil in areas that had spread/pad footings with no deep foundations
• Mass exporting onsite soils
• Mass importing clean sand for the working pad and site backfill
• Providing multiple access ramps to best facilitate the planned work on the project

With the excavation complete and the earth retention systems in place, our team began installing the deep foundation systems to support the 36-story tall North Loop Green. Bolander used multiple systems which satisfied all load requirements, including:

• Driven H-Pile
• Driven Pipe pile
• Micropile
• Drilled piers
• Tension H-pile with rebar “candy canes”

While working in close vicinity of the Bassett Creek Tunnel, some deep foundation changes needed to be made to accommodate the depth and size of the existing waterway, as well as the differing site conditions.

Working concurrently with our foundation crews, the utility crews had their own solutions to the complex project requirements. In addition to standard utility services, our team installed a 96” Duromaxx storm sewer retention system and a JellyFish storm water pretreatment structure. The utility work required a variety of installation methods to overcome many challenges:

• Jack and bore pipe installation for a deep sanitary connection
• Rock hammering/trenching
• Existing utility support
• Open excavation installation
• Temporary storm sewer reroute
• Making multiple connections to an existing concrete-encased watermain

Although there wasn’t an existing building to demolish, our demolition crew still had a unique job to do. Along with other entrances at ground level, North Loop Green features an entryway from the 5^th St. bridge directly across from Target Field. Our demolition crew removed the crash wall and sidewalk from the portion of the bridge that connects to the new NLG III plaza. The bridge removals required the skill and experience of our demolition crew to figure out the best way to complete these removals without damaging the existing bridge deck. The demolition work included:

• Salvaging the existing fence
• Saw cutting multiple relief cuts for the sidewalk
• Using the proper equipment to remove the concrete without damaging the existing bridge deck
• Intensive traffic/pedestrian control coordination to accommodate Target Field events

As Kraus-Anderson and other contractors work on constructing the building and its 450 apartments and over 350,000 square feet of commercial and office space, Bolander will complete the finish grading on over an acre of green space.

We are extremely thankful to our valued customer Kraus-Anderson Construction who chose to rely on the talented men and women of Bolander to deliver this major project!