The North Street Shopping Center is of of the largest and busiest shopping centers in Danbury, CT. It is home to the Burlington Coat Factory, A&P Market, Dollar Tree, and various other shops and offices. This shopping center, unknown to many, also is located above a river, the Padanaram Brook. Ignore the term brook, because during the wet time of year, spring thaw, and hurricane season, this brook becomes a raging river!
The Tunnel that carries the river underneath the North Street Shopping Center was build decades ago. The tunnel was designed with walls and a ceiling, but built with no floor. The rushing river water erodes the bottom of the tunnel, and over the decades that this tunnel existed, many areas became dangerously eroded. The fast current of the river was washing the soil away creating an unstable and dangerous condition, which could result in the parking lot collapsing.
To rectify, gabion baskets were used to stabilize the river bed in 80 ft of the tunnel. In extreme areas of erosion, the baskets were built into cement slabs and laid in the river bed. Over the last 10 years, we have maintained, repaired, and permanently fixed the problem using gabion baskets and concrete slabs.
This job required specialized equipment, including machines that could work inside the tunnel, and in the flowing river waters. One example of specialized equipment that the AJM Team used on this project was our Mustang Track Loader. This loader is capable of going through the water, over rough rocks and debris, and up very steep wet slopes. Without this specialized equipment, this job would have been impossible.
Next time your driving through Danbury Connecticut, if you drive by the Padanaram Brook, imagine our team working in chest high waders through the deeper and darker parts of this tunnel!
The management of the shopping center was thrilled with our work, and has used us for years to help with various other large projects.
