FLOOD PROTECTION ALONG THE RAILWAY LINE IN MINNESOTA.

FLOOD PROTECTION ALONG THE RAILWAY LINE IN MINNESOTA.

Flooding along the Chippewa River, a tributary of the Minnesota River in Montevideo, occurs more rapidly than expected, especially after heavy winter snowfall and spring snowmelt. In addition, ice jams upstream cause rapid flows in Montevideo. Flooding then particularly affects areas that are in the immediate vicinity of the river and on the west side of the dike.

Within the affected area, there is also a railway line that crosses the Chippewa River. This is regularly affected by flooding and should be provided with flood protection. The challenge was to devise a solution that could be integrated into the existing system of sheet piling, concrete wall and the tracks and protect the buildings and businesses in front of it from flooding by the river. The train track had to remain passable for trains and should only be sealed in the event of a flood.

This opening is sealed over a width of 6 metres and a height of 2 metres, which conventionally would actually have to be solved by several bays with central posts and anchor plate foundations due to the forces that occur. Due to the existing tracks - no structural changes were possible here - this project seemed difficult to realise.

With the support of the experts in the technical office, terra infrastructure developed a special solution for this. It consists of modified 6-metre-long dam beams that can withstand the water in the event of a disaster. These fulfil all static requirements. For this project, existing 250x150 dam beams were individually reinforced with welded-on plates.

For the future, Montevideo is also optimally protected against flooding in the area of the tracks at the river crossing.