Longwood Gardens showcases gardens, woodlands, and meadows in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The botanical garden is embarking on its most ambitious expansion project to date, enlisting Trinity Subsurface to locate underground features.
A 32,000 square-foot West Conservatory will be landscaped and constructed on the property. Trinity’s field employees are conducting private utility locating and vacuum excavation services to ensure subsurface utility lines are not struck during the build process.
“We’re expanding our grounds, connecting them from east to west in a beautiful, unified journey of lush, formal gardens to open meadows to winding paths to breathtaking Brandywine Valley vistas.”
– Longwood Gardens (read more here)
The number one risk to construction workers is caused by excavating and drilling around underground utilities. Breaking ground blind will lead to costly utility repairs and possible state fines. Longwood Gardens has enlisted Trinity Subsurface to locate all utilities within the project scope to avoid accidental strikes. This will keep the Longwood Gardens Reimagined project on time and on budget by preventing site damage.
Using a variety of surface geophysical equipment, Trinity Subsurface, LLC locates multiple utility types at a depth range between 0-15′ below the surface. With such a significant project scope, our field employees needed 7 full days to conduct private utility locating.
Vacuum excavation is a non-mechanical and less invasive method of excavation. The method breaks up soil and underground material using pressurized air then suctions it up to clear the area with a high-powered vacuum.
The process of potholing allows Trinity Subsurface field employees to collect Quality Level A data. This level of data involves physically locating the actual utility. It is typically the most accurate form of data. Once the utility is potholed it is located horizontally and vertically by survey measurements.
The percentage of unmarked utilities dramatically increases when working on private property like the Longwood Gardens. Our field employee, Nate, said with every pothole created an unknown utility was found. This means many underground features were left unmapped by contractors when past renovations occurred.
To correct poor underground infrastructure mapping, Trinity Subsurface, LLC wil supply Longwood Gardens with a test hole report and a CAD drawing. A test hole report includes a test hole matrix, which charts out a snapshot of the data for each test hole performed on one easy-to-read report. A CAD drawing provides highly detailed mapping of designated underground utilities. Together, these two deliverables will provide Longwood Gardens with the data contractors need to continue the company’s legacy of innovation and stunning displays.
