St. Joes Hospital Aurora Hospital S. Milwaukee High Muskego High Kern Center Klotsche Center Hart Park Lincoln Creek
Lincoln Creek Soil Contamination Renovation
Milwaukee, WI – Schneider Excavating has been contracted to immediately begin removal of contaminated soils in Lincoln Creek on the North West side of Milwaukee. Located just north of West Hampton Avenue and East of Green Bay Avenue, the thirty acre site consists of open water, riverbeds, forest, and prairie. The project is part of the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA), a law in the United States that regulates new or existing chemicals in our environment and is headed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“Lincoln Creek is a direct tributary to the Milwaukee River” explained Steve Ristow, President and Treasurer of Schneider Excavating. “Most of the contaminated soil can be found where the two rivers meet.”
Ground breaking on the East side of the Lincoln Creek is scheduled to begin on August 1st and completion should occur before the end of the year. The second phase of decontamination is projected to begin in 2012.
“Lincoln Creek will need to be split in half as contaminated soil is removed from the riverbed” stated Bob Widule, a project manager. “It will be divided with sheet piling into an east and west side and pumped dry when necessary. The creek is roughly 100 ft wide, and will be split approximately into 60 and 40 ft sections.
In addition, other construction facilities will be introduced to the site. This will include access roads, temporary bridges, crane stations, and drying pads for contaminated soils.
“In other words, we will be moving a lot of dirt” enthused Steve Ristow. “At our peak, expect to see trucks carrying away up to 12 cubic yards of material every minute in a half. This will occur continually day and night”.
Traffic patterns on Green Bay Avenue will change during excavation to accommodate heavy machinery and increased truck traffic. Bob Widule further explained “We will be closing the right northbound lane and providing traffic control to ensure safe driving conditions for anyone using the area. Expect to see lane closures and delays during various phases of the project.”
A large stretch of North Milwaukee River Parkway will be closed as well. The road will be used as a staging area and will provide additional access to the area for work crews.
Contaminated soil will be delivered to Waste Management’s Orchard Ridge Landfill for local disposal. Soil with a higher degree of contamination will be transported to a specialized landfill in Michigan. Any uncontaminated soils will remain onsite.
After all contaminated soil is removed, large stone will be added to the river’s edge to reinforce and stabilize the river bank. A separate contractor, will plant trees and greenery to areas compromised during construction.
For safety reasons, the site will be closed to public access. Security will be on the grounds day and night.
Polychlorinated Biphenyl or PCBs have contaminated the soils in Lincoln Creek for decades. PCBs were once widely used as insulating fluid in electrical transformers, in coolants, as a component in hydraulic fluid, and in other products like paint or adhesives. After overwhelming evidence confirming PCBs as a likely carcinogen and endocrine disruptor their use was banned by the United States Congress is 1979 and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001.
# # #
Schneider excavating has been providing excavating services to the Wisconsin area for over seventy years and specializes in GPS grade control site development, building excavations, road building, subdivision grading, solid waste land fill, licensed hazardous waste hauling, and computerized estimating.
Schneider Excavating, Inc. 20079 W Main Street P.O. Box 92 Lannon, WI 53046-9741 Phone: 262-251-4200 Fax: 262-251-4216
An equal opportunity employer
