Construction Crews on McCormick Road Waiting for Soil to Settle

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Some drivers have complained that they don't see work being done in the construction zone on McCormick Road between Monument and Fort Caroline Rd.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority says the crews are holding off on repairing the road because of soil consolidation.

JTA says in the design phase of the project, it was detected that the part of the approach to Ginhouse Creek bridge would be built had unsuitable soil.

In order to prevent settlement later, the soil must be consolidated to make it more sound.

This solution requires the placement of two layers of soil in the area to form a weight while the water is removed from the silt.

The first layer of fill was six feet thick and installed over the entire bridge approach area. The a second layer was placed on top of that.

JTA says time is crucial in this process. The first layer of soil was laid down on May 27th, 2008. Crews expect the settlement process to take until September 23rd, 2008. After that point work can resume in the area.

Currently crews are monitoring the soil settlement twice a week.

JTA says the Wonderwood Three project is still on schedule to be completed in December 2008.

The project includes widening the existing road to four lanes with divided landscaped medians. It also includes the construction of the Ginhouse Creek Bridge.