In September 2021 the 13th hole of the TPC River Highlands was washed out when Hurricane Ida hit Connecticut. Declaring the stabilization and repair of the area an emergency in need of immediate action, CTDOT hired O&G Industries to orchestrate and execute the work, with a tight timeline for completion in May 2022.
The storm collapsed thousands of tons of rock, soil, and sand, carving out a giant bowl some 70 feet high and 250 feet across. The damage left an active train track dangling in mid-air above the washout, alongside a now-exposed pipeline that supplies jet fuel from New Haven Harbor to Bradley International Airport.
O&G began mobilizing at the site in mid-September. Repairs, modifications, and relocation of the fuel pipeline were performed by the owners of Buckeye Pipeline Company. Then O&G began full-scale site work to reengineer and rebuild the hole to reach its original elevation to support the railroad. Approximately 18,000 cubic yards of washed-out materials were removed. The hole was then backfilled with 32,000 tons of process aggregate at 2-foot intervals.
The original drainage system had a stormwater handling capacity of about 4,500 gallons per minute. The replacement system designed by CTDOT has a capacity 800% greater, at 37,000 gallons per minute. It relies on three 24” concrete pipes placed under the track bed that transition through connection manholes into a 42” concrete pipe that runs down the slope to an outfall headwall and splash pad to minimize washout into the Connecticut River.
ECC Corporation, a specialist in railway construction and maintenance, removed the damaged tracks in the fall and returned in December to install the replacement line.
O&G performed finish work in late winter of 2022, including the installation of protective railings, paving a new cart path, installing timber railings along the path, and sodding new embankments.
Accomplished during the pandemic, work was never delayed, and design changes were accommodated to counter the scarcity of some materials. By early May of 2022, the last of the damage had been repaired, well ahead of the Traveler’s Championship.
