Retaining wall could lead to more parking at VA medical center

Sep. 14—A retaining wall project for the Jack C. Montgomery VA Medical Center also could add parking for medical center workers.

Contractors with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have begun moving dirt on property along North 48th Street, just south of Honor Heights Park.

Crews are building a retaining wall to stabilize the west side of the hill where the medical center sits. Work also includes an undisclosed number of parking spaces for the hospital.

Jeffrey Stevens, geophysical engineer, said there was a landslide behind the hospital in 2015, when the hospital was installing a new generator.

A 2018 report from Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General revealed that in January 2015, a contractor was allowed to start excavation without prior approval of an excavation and shoring plan.

Heavy spring rains in 2015 caused the hillside by the hospital's back parking lot to become unstable, resulting in cracking and upheaval of the parking lot, according to a 2015 Muskogee Phoenix article.

Stevens said the hill became saturated with water. The Corps analyzed the landslide for potential future issues, he said.

Structural engineer Daniel Morales said contractors had to put in a secondary retaining wall at the bottom of the slope.

The walls are composed of precast concrete panels that are tied back with Geogrid reinforcement. Geogrid is a geosynthetic material that does not corrode and adds strength to the retaining wall, Morales said.

Corps Civil Engineer Adam Smith said contractors are securing the slope to make sure the hospital remains in stable condition.

An area along North 48th Street began to be cleared in June, Smith said.

Additional parking is a secondary benefit, he said.

Smith said the hospital must contract for a shuttle service to a separate parking area. Hospital workers are shuttled to a parking area at Hatbox Field. He said the shuttle "increases commute times."

"There's a lot of eyes on this project. It's a very important project because it's been a critical area immediately adjacent to the main hospital," Smith said. "There's a lot of visibility."

He said the Corps makes periodic site visits and works to keep dialog open with construction staff on site. They also keep in touch with VA staff, he said.

"The challenge of this hillside is that there's limited access on upper slope," Smith said. "You've got deliveries being made to the VA hospital all the time. You've got a new generator building that's going to be constructed on the hillside. There's going to be a lot of congestion on that upper slope."

There also are primary parking lots for patients and staff on the hill, he said.

"We're limiting the contractor to access being from 48th Street," he said. "It provides a long-term access route to this parking area."

Smith, Stevens and Morales are with the Corps' Dam Safety Production Center. They discussed the project in a recent Corps podcast.