A port facility project named Terminal Zárate is under construction 90 Km North of Buenos Aires, Argentina. As part of the construction process, a 3.5 m thick hydraulic fill and a 3.0 m thick compacted soil embankment were placed on top of a soft soil deposit. A tight construction schedule demanded that the placement of the fill be completed before Six months, which in practice meant that an improved soil drainage system needed to be installed. A higher preload was chosen instead, taking advantage of the existence of some sandy seams in the clayey soil. A monitoring program was used to check estimations and to assess when the required degree of consolidation was achieved. Some relevant results are presented here, along with the mechanical characterization of the soils involved in the problem.
