Showerthought: The difference a year of silt makes on a bridge piling

We did a survey on the same set of pilings under the I-10 bridge in Mobile last year and again last week. The before and after was wild, a whole foot of soft silt built up in just 12 months. It was like diving into a giant bowl of chocolate pudding, visibility went from 15 feet to about 6 inches in that layer. Anyone else had a job where the site changed way more than you expected between visits?

3 comments

3 Comments

jade2263mo ago

A whole foot in a year? That's crazy.

stella9043mo ago

Sounds like someone's been hitting the miracle grow. Must be nice to have a personal growth spurt after age twelve. My plants barely survive a month, let alone gain a whole foot. Nature's playing favorites again.

tyler_white4220d ago

Same thing happened to me on a bridge job in Louisiana a few years back. We went out in March and could see the bottom clear as day, then came back in September and could barely see our own hands. That foot of silt buildup sounds about right for the Gulf coast, all that runoff just piles up fast. I know exactly what you mean about the visibility too, its frustrating when you're trying to do a proper inspection and you just end up stirring up more mud. Makes you wonder what else is changing that we can't even see.