Building a Stronger Foundation at Hale Crossing with Rammed Aggregate Piers

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Every successful multifamily project starts with a strong foundation. At Hale Crossing in Newport, New Hampshire, challenging soil conditions required EGCON and the project team to identify a solution that would support the building while also controlling costs, limiting site disruption, and maintaining the construction schedule.

The answer was Rammed Aggregate Piers, commonly referred to as RAPs.

What Are Rammed Aggregate Piers?

Rammed Aggregate Piers are a ground improvement system designed to strengthen weak, loose, or compressible soils beneath a structure. The process involves constructing vertical columns of densely compacted aggregate within the existing soils.

These aggregate piers increase the stiffness and load-bearing capacity of the ground, helping it safely support the weight of the building and reducing the potential for settlement.

At Hale Crossing, RAPs provided an effective alternative to removing and replacing unsuitable soils and urban fill across the site. Rather than excavating large amounts of material, transporting it off-site, and importing replacement soil, the project team was able to improve the existing ground conditions in place while still meeting the building’s structural bearing requirements.

A More Efficient Approach to Ground Improvement

Using RAPs created several important benefits for the Hale Crossing project.

By minimizing the amount of material that needed to be excavated and disposed of, the project reduced soil removal and disposal costs. Fewer truckloads entering and leaving the site also meant less traffic, noise, dust, and disruption for the surrounding neighborhood.

The approach also limited unnecessary disturbance across the property and reduced the time required to prepare the site for foundation construction. These efficiencies helped the project maintain forward momentum while creating a reliable foundation for the future building.

Working With the Site, Not Against It

Every construction site presents its own set of conditions and challenges. Successful construction management requires evaluating those conditions early and selecting solutions that balance performance, cost, schedule, and long-term value.

At Hale Crossing, Rammed Aggregate Piers allowed the project team to work with the existing site conditions rather than against them. The result was a smart, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible ground improvement strategy that created the support needed for construction to continue.

As work progresses at Hale Crossing, EGCON looks forward to sharing additional updates and milestones from the project.