SKS Engineers was invited to work on the site of the newly planned Millikin University Theater & Dance building, southwest of the intersection of North Oakland Avenue and West Kirkland Drive in Decatur, Illinois. Work was authorized May 2018, and SKS drilled 5 test borings on the site to a depth of 26 feet. From our findings, we were able to generate a geotechnical report recommending conventional, shallow, continuous and isolated footing foundations, removing some of the economic strain from Millikin University. We were additionally able to recommend practical solutions for encountering soft soil and groundwater, as well as for working in cold-weather conditions.
The Theatre and Dance building’s foundations were completed by January 2019, and SKS continued inspecting the building nearly through its completion in fall 2020.