Subsurface Conditions and Foundation Solutions for the New Yankee Stadium

Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) served as the Geotechnical Engineer for the New Yankee Stadium project in the Borough of the Bronx in New York City, NY. MRCE's responsibilities included subsurface investigation of the site, preparation of recommendations for design and construction, consulting services related to foundations and other geotechnical issues, and construction inspection of foundations. Topography, geology and site history are interesting aspects of the project and the resulting subsurface conditions encountered. The soil and rock profile includes manmade fill, compressible organic deposits, and glacial lake sediments, all underlain by two bedrock formations at depths ranging from zero to more than 45 m (150 ft). Foundations for the new stadium consisted of spread footings bearing on rock, driven pipe piles, and drilled piles. Driven piles were concrete filled and bearing in glacial till, decomposed rock, or bedrock. Drilled piles were socketed in bedrock. Pile capacities ranged from 900–1350 kN (100–150 tons), proven by load testing. Driven piles encountered some problems such as damage during driving and sweep. In some cases, in order to penetrate intermediate harder layers above the bearing stratum, the contractor drove some piles to partial depth, filled the embedded portion with concrete, and then drove to final penetration.