A Case Study of Complex Site Characterization of the Honolulu Transit Corridor Project in Honolulu Hawaii

摘要

This paper presents a site characterization case history for an 11.6-km (7.2-mile)fixed-guideway transit system in the corridor between East Kapolei and Pearl Highlands,on the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. The relatively young age of the volcanic island and thesea level fluctuations during the continental glaciation cycles produced complexsubsurface material combinations, which is unique only to Hawaii. As a result,subsurface material distribution and their engineering properties could vary significantlywithin short distances and are hard to predict accurately.A carefully selected sampling/testing program was implemented to provide aconceptual vision into the subsurface profile and to estimate the subsurface materialproperties and their engineering performance. The subsurface exploration programincluded conventional approaches (i.e. soil borings, SCPTu, SSWV, and ReMiTM) butwith some variations to account for local conditions and practices. From the generalizedsubsurface profile along the project alignment, the profile indicated variable distributionand material properties in the subsurface typical of the highly variable ground conditionsencountered in Hawaii.