to wick drain installation and lack of a mechanism to contractually accommodate this new information in the project schedule and approach are what caused the most problems. Instead of being in a position to be proactive about managing these risks, the entire project team was reacting to what was encountered in the field. Even though our experience was telling us that site conditions were not in the spirit of what was expected during the design process, the work progressed as-is because " time is of the essence. " This was a case where, despite bidders being in line with the project specifications and requirements, the results ended up costing the owner significantly more in time and money than anticipated. With foresight to allow for an appropriately phased geotechnical investigation and a contract structure that allowed for changes to means and methods to accommodate new information, the project could have been completed more efficiently and economically. Brian McGlynn is a regional estimating engineer with Farrell Design-Build, and previously worked with parent company Menard including on the wick drain project. He has spent the past decade working on ground improvement projects focusing on the Gulf and West Coast markets. Dredged material being placed 18 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2023