This case study involved construction of a new school building and
a grandstand for a track and football field in southern Colorado.
A preliminary geotechnical investigation was conducted in 2003
for the school building. It identified soils with expansion potential
ranging from low to high. The investigation focused on the proposed
building area and did not specifically address the grandstand
or field area, which was located 37 m (120 ft) to the east of the
building. The actual location of the school was later moved to the
north of the originally planned location. However, none of
the owner, the architect, or the geotechnical engineer identified the
need to perform additional investigations. As a result, only one of
the exploratory holes in the preliminary investigation was located
within the footprint of the building. None of the exploratory holes
were in the location of the grandstand.