Transit below or beside the cut
At Wilshire Grand Center in Downtown Los Angeles, Metro tunnels lay close to the soldier piles. The shoring used tiebacks above and preloaded rakers at and below tunnel level, with instrumentation during excavation.
A Los Angeles excavation can run beside a transit tunnel, an existing basement, or a busy street. Shoring holds the cut while the foundation is built, but piles, anchors, and braces also have to fit the site’s boundaries, access, and construction sequence.
Cefali & Associates designs temporary excavation support for these conditions. Our published Los Angeles work includes deep basement shoring, soldier piles, tiebacks, walers, and preloaded rakers. The projects below show how the support changed with the physical conditions at each site.
Site conditions
At Wilshire Grand Center in Downtown Los Angeles, Metro tunnels lay close to the soldier piles. The shoring used tiebacks above and preloaded rakers at and below tunnel level, with instrumentation during excavation.
At The Grand, the active 2nd Street Tunnel limited anchor length. An existing retaining wall also blocked tieback drilling at some piles, so a multi-row waler system transferred loads to other anchor locations.
At 6th & Bixel, petroleum-affected soils required a deeper excavation after the original cut was reached. The soldier piles remained, with added tiebacks and walers for the revised depth.
At Columbia Square in Hollywood, corner braces and rakers supplemented tiebacks around historic buildings. At Century Plaza in Century City, cantilever piles, tiebacks, and rakers supported work beside existing structures.
At BLVD 6200 South in Hollywood, less than five feet separated soldier piles from station walls. Internal bracing supported that edge, while other parts of the excavation used tiebacks.
Published project work

Seven rows of tiebacks and preloaded rakers supported a deep Downtown excavation near Metro tunnels.

Short anchors and a multi-row waler system worked around a tunnel and existing retaining wall.

Additional tiebacks and walers supported a deeper garage excavation after site conditions changed.

A 55-foot garage shoring redesign coordinated tiebacks near Pico Station in South Park.

Hollywood excavation support used tiebacks, corner bracing, and rakers around historic structures.

Century City work used cantilever piles, tiebacks, and rakers beside existing buildings.

Near Hollywood/Vine Station, internal bracing supported the edge where Metro structures left little room behind the soldier piles.
Engineering scope
These projects show how excavation depth, neighboring structures, access, and the permanent work can change the support design. Your site needs its own geotechnical criteria and structural design. The contractor determines installation and construction means and methods.
Read more about temporary shoring design or explore other published work in Los Angeles.