San Juan Creek Levee CMAR

Ames Construction upgraded a one-mile segment of the San Juan Creek flood control channel in Southern California using a CMAR (Construction Manager-at-Risk) delivery method. The improvements to the aging levee enhanced safety for residents, businesses, and property in San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point.

Ames installed steel sheet piles, columns, stainless steel tension cables, concrete block walls, support structures, and new drainage systems. The anchor columns tie back the steel sheet piles with the stainless-steel auxiliary cable system underneath a bikeway, new maintenance road, and riding and hiking trail. The continuous sheet pile was driven to a depth of nearly 54 feet, and the pipe to a depth of nearly 40 feet.

Because of the site’s proximity to residential neighborhoods and businesses, noise and vibration were of particular concern, and typical diesel pile-driving equipment was not a viable option. Instead, Ames used two different pieces of equipment to minimize noise and vibration: a silent piler machine, which uses only hydraulic force to press in the sheets, and a low-impact ABI machine with a low-vibratory, high-frequency hammer.

The project was in a confined, narrow work area with a single point of access. The steel sheet pile and auxiliary cable system were constructed on the banks of the levee because construction equipment and materials were not allowed in the channel itself. The crane and large pile-driving machine tracks filled the entire width of the levee, requiring careful coordination of material needs, equipment shifts, and overall site logistics.

Additional scope included levee grading, a structural concrete cap and masonry splash wall with a modified cable railing on top, and a multipurpose asphalt trail.