234th Street Channel Repair

Technical Description:

• Span: 14 ft
• Rise: 10 ft
• Length: 576 ft

The 234th Street Channel is one of the city’s main drainage conduits and was formerly a shotcrete-lined open channel. In the past few years, deterioration of the channel walls caused the collapse of the adjacent residential yards. The city of Torrance decided to enclose the channel and called upon John M. Tettemer & Associates to design the structure. 

John M. Tettemer & Associates presented three structural alternatives, a cast-in-place RCB, a Hydro-Arch, and the CON/SPAN^® precast arch to the city. The city required the bidders to include estimates for each alternative. CON/SPAN was selected as the low-cost option.

Contech worked with Herman Weissker to develop an innovative solution for a challenging site. The site offered only 20 feet of right-of-way for the full length of the channel, therefore restricting a standard installation by crane.

Weissker improvised by building a hydraulic lift on the back of a flat bed utility truck, setting the units onto the truck with a crane, and driving the units into place before lowering them with the hydraulic lift. Despite the unique installation challenges, Weissker was able to install the total structure in five days.

Technical Description:

• Span: 14 ft
• Rise: 10 ft
• Length: 576 ft