In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a major interstate artery, I-35W, had been experiencing flooding during intense storm events. In 2018, additional stormwater storage requirements prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to hire Barr to develop flood-risk-reduction concepts. We then led a team of consulting firms to design a stormwater storage facility, and Barr developed and implemented a geotechnical monitoring program.
Construction of the stormwater storage facility is underway, and, during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote instrumentation monitoring has become an increasingly useful and important aspect of the project. Our ability to dispense information remotely to all stakeholders (owners, contractors, and designers) throughout this complex, challenging infrastructure project has been critical. In these challenging times, it is vitally important that key decision-makers have easy access to the quality data necessary to make informed decisions while minimizing risk for all involved.