Whiting Lakefront Park |

Case Study

Whiting Lakefront Park

Overview

An assessment of storm damage to a rubble mound revetment protecting a park in Whiting, IN, along with the design and construction of emergency repair works and preliminary design development for comprehensive rehabilitation works for the structure.

Project Highlights

The City of Whiting completed a major redevelopment of Whiting Lakefront Park in 2012-2013, including the construction of a 2,230 ft long shoreline revetment. The revetment, designed by others, was damaged during three storms in 2013-2014. Baird was retained to oversee the execution of emergency repair works, assess the cause of damage, and develop preliminary designs and costs for comprehensive rehabilitation works for the revetment.

Baird’s scope for the emergency repair works included identification of priority areas for repairs, assessment of alternatives, liaison with the contractor, and oversight of the construction work. Subsequently, Baird undertook comprehensive field investigations, numerical modeling, and empirical analyses of waves and wave-structure interactions to determine the damage mechanism(s) and support design development for rehabilitation works to minimize the risk of future damage. In addition, Baird completed a coastal processes study to assess sedimentation in the boat launch basin and identify alternative solutions to this problem.

Project Challenges:

Fast track schedule for design and construction of emergency repair works
Original revetment design compromised by inadequate information on nearshore bathymetry fronting the structure
Field work identified steep nearshore slope comprised of range in materials (remnant from lakefill project constructed in the early 1900s)
Design of effective rehabilitation works complicated by need to integrate with existing underwater slope which extends into significant water depth (overlooked in original design)
Coastal processes significantly influenced by the presence of much larger coastal structures on either side of the project

Project Solutions:

Fast-track execution of ~$1M in emergency repair works
Comprehensive UAV and MBS surveys to document existing conditions
Numerical modeling of waves, nearshore hydrodynamics, and sediment transport
Damage assessment and design development for comprehensive rehabilitation works
Alternative assessment for measures to address sedimentation problems

Explore Other Case Studies

Whitesand First Nation Shoreline Stabilization
Lake Nipigon, ON, Canada

Baird was retained to complete the planning, design and construction services to protect 1,400 metres of eroding shoreline on Whitesand First Nation traditional land, located on the north shore of Lake Nipigon. The design consisted of an armour stone revetment and slope stabilization.

View Full Case Study
Climate Change, Water Resource Management and Flood Resilience in Barbados
Trents/Holetown, Barbados

Barbados receives large seasonal rainfall, resulting in widespread flooding, yet remains one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. Baird was retained by the Government of Barbados to undertake a comprehensive program to improve stormwater management and flood resilience.

View Full Case Study