Responsible for building, repairing, and operating highways, bridges, and other means of transportation in the state, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has worked with Schnabel on hundreds of projects. We’ve successfully completed investigations at more than 100 highway sites and over 100 bridges under current and previous contracts with the Geotechnical Engineering Unit and the Hydraulics Unit.

Here’s a short list that illustrates the types of projects we’ve worked on:

  • Project U-4020, Preliminary Site Assessments (PSAs), Watauga County: We conducted geophysical surveys and PSAs for seven parcels in the proposed ROW of the King Street widening project in Boone. The work included GPR and EM61 surveys, geoprobe drilling and sampling, field screening of samples and laboratory testing, and reporting. Future tasks include removing two USTs.
  • Geophysical surveys for Highway Right-of-Way Projects, Various Locations: Schnabel is responsible for over 75 geophysical projects to date for the NCDOT Geotechnical Unit. These projects have included locating USTs, mapping the extent of buried waste, investigating sinkholes, and investigating the 2004 I-40 landslide/road closure.
  • NDT Evaluation of Unknown Bridge Foundations, Various Locations: We completed a contract with the Hydraulics Unit to conduct nondestructive testing of unknown bridge foundations in Coastal and Piedmont counties.
  • Brunswick County Dam Design, Sunset Beach: We designed a replacement dam as part of the new Sunset Beach bridge project (B-0682). The dam impounds a pond on a golf course and had to be moved to accommodate construction of the planned bridge. Sequencing of dam removal, roadway construction, and diversion water control were key issues on this project. During construction, we provided review of the contractor’s dewatering plan.