Ports 2019: Port Engineering

“The piles are falling apart at the seams.” What the engineer-diver was seeing was a premature failure of the steel pipe piles’ vertical weld seam, resulting from an accelerated corrosion process. What makes this particular mode of corrosion unique is that it aggressively attacks the weld material and can result in premature failure of the entire pile. This condition is a result of the piles’ original fabrication process and is becoming unmasked on a more frequent basis on waterfront structures. This paper will discuss the causes of this condition as well as the effect it has had on several waterfront structures in the northeast. It will also discuss the structural implications to the overall pile capacity as well as the repair efforts taken to mitigate these effects.

Ports play a vital role in the nation’s economic well-being, and any disruptions to ports may incur significant economic loss to seaport stakeholders and the society. This study evaluates the resilience of a seaport and the economy in response to extreme events of earthquakes. Using the nonlinear time-history analysis of geo-structure models, the seismic performance of structural wharf systems and seismic damage to the seaport are evaluated. The consequent repair time and operational disruption losses are estimated for two earthquake scenarios representing moderate and strong events. The estimated delay in services and loss of cargos are used to perform economic resilience analysis. Using the integrated physics-based infrastructure vulnerability models and economic models, the relative contributions of various resilience options in reducing potential economic impacts from port disruptions are quantified. It is found that ship diversion and recapture tactics are among the most effective options to enhance the resilience of the seaport and the economy.

The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) is one of the world’s busiest seaports and leading gateway for international trade in the Western Hemisphere. Recently, POLA completed the Berths 214–220 redevelopment project. The project included upgrades to the wharf to accommodate larger ship sizes, upgrades to Berths 218–220 to increase the ship-to-shore crane from a 50-foot gauge to a 100-foot gauge, and improvements to the backland to increase terminal operation efficiency. The construction of the project occurred in multiple phases over a 22-month period (contractual duration). Several challenges were encountered during construction, such as conflicting obstructions during pile driving, unforeseen substructures conflicting with crane girder construction, observing sheet pile tolerances, mitigating disruption to allow for continued operation, and tenant-requested changes after design, among others. Construction of the project started in September 2015 and completed in May 2017, ahead of the 22-month contract duration. This paper discusses the challenges faced during construction, the method of resolution, and the lessons learned.

Coastal regions are often associated with large and strategic structures, like ports and industrial or tourist exploitation. On the other hand, most harbours worldwide are in seismic and tsunami-prone regions, being the risk simultaneously increased by two inherent factors: the important societal role played by the ports and the exposure to the natural hazard. An efficient structural design decreases the vulnerability and, consequently, the risk; however, it implies a careful characterization of the acting loads. Aiming to investigate the successive earthquake and tsunami loading in a pile-supported quay of a deep-water port, is considered the seismic uncertainty associated to the region to estimate the ET actions. Two coupled models are required: 1) macro-scaled model, using FVM, to assess the hazard of the region, and 2) a meso/micro-scaled model, using SPH, to convert the physical parameters of the macro-simulation into structural forces.

Large floating dock systems consist of a complex arrangement of components whose environmental loading and movements can be challenging to predict due to interaction between elements. Recent advances in multi-physics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technology have allowed expansion of marine structure analysis from typical coastal engineering studies into a complete evaluation of dynamic system behavior by simulating inter-float and pile-float connection loadings. These recent advances have been applied to wave loading of several marine terminal facilities in San Francisco Bay, including the conceptual design of an interconnected concrete float system for the Water Emergency Transportation Authority’s (WETA) Central Bay Operations and Maintenance Facility (CBOM), to investigate system characteristics typically too complex to accurately evaluate. Results of this wave loading analysis demonstrate that guide pile stiffness and float connection rigidity can have a significant impact on load distribution within a float system that should be taken into consideration during design.

Quick-release mooring hooks have become increasingly popular for use in design of new mooring systems, especially for larger vessels. Modern quick-release hooks offer several operational and safety benefits over the standard bollards or cleats, or the older style pelican hooks. Such benefits include integrated capstans, the abilities to release mooring lines without de-tensioning the lines, release mooring lines remotely from a distant control location in possible emergency situations, as well as monitoring of tension in the mooring lines while a vessel is at berth. In addition, mooring hooks are increasingly being required for new installations by local rules or regulations. This paper discusses the challenges and solutions for designing and installing quick-release mooring hook at existing marine facilities. Examples of successful installations and typical technical challenges are presented.

In performance-based seismic design, a marine structure is designed for inertial loading effects associated with the dynamic response of the structure. Some waterfront structures also experience seismically induced kinematic effects, associated with soil liquefaction and lateral spreading. There is currently no specific guidance in codes or standards for how to combine the kinematic and inertial effects. Also, there is variations in opinion in practice when it comes to addressing these analyses. This paper explores considerations for determining proper load combinations for inertial and kinematic demands, and presents in detail a preferred analysis approach for analyzing a coupled response of these effects. Finally, this “how-to” addresses practical considerations for performing these evaluations.

The original Evergreen Point Floating Bridge consisted of 31 individual pontoons, interconnected and anchored with cables to the bottom of the lake. Even with the retrofits, the aging bridge was deemed to be vulnerable to severe windstorms. Hence the bridge was eventually replaced with a modern floating bridge that could remain operational after larger storms. Decommissioning the original bridge was a challenging operation which was complicated by the various retrofits, ballast modifications, and recent external post-tensioning along the entire length of the bridge. Detailed ballast and separation plans were developed to protect the new replacement bridge which was built in close vicinity. Any accidents with the removal work would potentially damage the new floating bridge and its anchor cables and could result in unmeasurable consequences. A multi-stage dynamic structural analyses was performed to ensure that the original floating bridge could be safely disassembled. The bridge was successfully decommissioned, and the pontoons were recycled as docks and artificial reefs.

This paper presents a summary of the challenges faced during the detailed design and site preparation phases of the project. The proposed B Jetty, which is constructed at the Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, serves to berth vessels of the naval fleet brought in for maintenance. The new jetty has been designed to withstand both tsunami wave- induced loads and seismic forces and remain functional. Typical results of soil-structure interaction analyses are presented and discussed along with the challenges faced on foundation design. Findings of a literature review of blasting criteria for onshore and offshore rock removal near heritage structures are also presented, which formed the basis of the technical specifications for rock removal specified for the project.

Reducing or eliminating wave agitation effects in harbors has long been a problem. The long and short period action can cause harmonic seiche action if the wave lengths are tuned to the basin dimensions. Various techniques have been attempted to dampen or reduce wave action including, but most involve large scale interventions and are often in conflict with the functioning needs of the port. Manipulating harbor entrance geometry or implementing wave entrance resonators sometimes work to avoid the problem ever entering the harbor, but once trapped inside, the only options remaining are reducing or redirecting the wave reflection. The typical choices then are revetted edges which steals valued water space and makes berthing more difficult, slit caissons which are structurally difficult and challenging, or implementing an energy absorbing block wall. In this paper a newly developed type of wave energy absorbing block and its development testing is presented which achieves both the desired wave damping and still allows the wall to serve as a berth.

This paper discusses design aspects of the guide-pile dolphin restraint system for a precast/prestressed concrete float that will serve as an end berth for the new Alaska Class Ferry (ACF) day boats at the Haines Ferry Terminal. The concrete float designed is 150 feet long, 120 feet wide, and 17.5 feet deep (45.7 by 36.6 by 5.3 m) and contains two landside transfer bridges which enable loading/unloading of the ACF. The guide-pile dolphin restraint system limits the horizontal movement of the float while accommodating tidal fluctuations of up to 30 feet (9.1 m) and heave, roll, and pitch under wave loading. The system resists wind and wave loads, accidental vessel impact loads, and potential liquefaction-induced lateral spreading from a seismic event.

In order to accommodate two ultra large container vessels simultaneously, the Port of Tacoma determined to reconfigure Pier 4. Consequently, significant dredging was required to realign the shoreline. Dredging included substantial slope cutback, requiring the removal of 465,000 CY (355,518 m³) of sediment. At its furthest point, the top of the slope necessitated relocating up to 330 feet (100.6 m) and re-shaping 2,000 feet (609.6 m) of shoreline. The project also included placing 100,000 tons (90,718.5 metric tons) of slope armoring rock. This paper will describe the process taken by the contractor, the port, and the design engineer to complete the dredging work on time and the methods used for interaction between each party to allow for a successful project amid multiple challenges. Various technologies were used to track the dredging process, including 3D viewing software that tracked the underwater positioning of the bucket. The expedited review methods ensuring dredging occurred per design and providing time-critical approvals will also be discussed.

Inspecting and documenting waterfront structures in the marine environment is often regarded as tough, demanding, and dangerous. Today’s datacentric engineering reports require detailed inspection photographs; in fact, a durable, point and shoot camera is an essential tool for every engineer in the field. How can we reduce the risk around a precarious work area and still provide high-quality images for a thorough, reliable, and cost-effective inspection? Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), commonly known as drones could be the answer. These aerial vehicles are maturing rapidly as an effective inspection platform and can be an integral tool for the engineers on the ground. Drones are changing the landscape in terms of optimizing project inspections with clear, hard-to-get images, and without slowing down the inspection time table. This paper will present first-hand experience, and unique insights, into the value and key benefits of having a drone in your in-house tool bag.

The high utilization rate of many modern container terminals, combined with the fact that new vessels can be several times more massive than mooring facilities, inevitably pose the question: what is the effect of a large moored vessel on the seismic response of a marginal wharf structure? Unfortunately, existing standards for the seismic design of pile-supported wharves do not offer any guidance into the issue but establish that earthquake loads need not be combined with mooring and berthing loads. This paper presents the results of detailed finite element models to help understand the dynamic interaction between the wharf structure, a moored vessel, and the surrounding water all under ground motion excitation. Inelastic behavior of mooring lines and fenders, as well as flexural hinging of piles and their connections coupled with hydrodynamic effects are included in the formulation. For a set of ground motions from a high seismic scenario, it was found that the presence of a large container vessel during an earthquake generally reduces the drift demands of the marginal wharf structure.

A vessel allision involved damage to the bulkhead at one of the busiest areas of the San Diego waterfront. The Port of San Diego declared an “emergency” that authorized the immediate execution of simultaneous design and construction contracts. Once authorized, the project team worked 24/7 to implement repairs. The 1928 bulkhead structure is part of the historic Navy Pier located at the front doorstep to the city. The location is at the intersection of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum, San Diego Bay Harbor Cruise facilities, and Harbor Drive, and is the site of heavy pedicab/pedestrian traffic. This project was executed under the scrutiny of the public, tenants, and media. Key elements of the project included: vessel Allision; above/below water inspection; restoration of 1928 bulkhead; In situ tie-rod testing; combination concrete wall form/cofferdam; special high early-strength concrete; design and construction work completed in 60 days!

The recently released ASCE Manual of Engineering Practice No. 130—Waterfront Facilities Inspection and Assessment (MOP 130) has quickly become the standard reference when it comes to above-water and underwater inspections. The manual covers a wide range of issues related to these inspections, including inspection types, service life estimation, reporting of inspections, structure types, materials, causes of damage, and specialized inspection techniques. There are presently no specific inspection criteria for plastic composite structural members, including ratings of different type and size of damage, similar to what is provided for more traditionally used materials such as timber, reinforced concrete, or steel. The goal of this paper is to develop and provide a suggestion for ratings that can be used in inspection of plastic composite members.

This paper examines the nonlinear static procedures (NSPs) available in the design Standard ASCE 61-14 for estimating the seismic response of marginal wharf structures. Three-dimensional wharf model structures on simulated soil conditions ranging from soft to stiff under bi-directional ground motion excitation were considered in the analyses. Results from NSPs were compared against benchmark values of engineering design parameters (EDPs). The latter are defined as the geometric mean demands (forces and deformations) that are obtained from nonlinear dynamic analyses with a set of 30 two-component ground motion records. It was found that, the substitute structure method (SSM) in ASCE 61-14 generally overestimates the benchmark displacement demands at the center of mass of the wharf, especially for short period structures. For the most critical pile connection at the landside corner, the 100/30 directional combination and the dynamic magnification (DMF) approaches in the standard produced displacement and curvature demands that overestimated the benchmark values for short period but underestimated the benchmark values for long period marginal wharves. The two approaches, however, produced results that are consistent with one another. It is concluded that the NSPs of ASCE 61-14 may not be adequate for the seismic design of flexible marginal wharves supported on plumb piles.

The “mooring cell” is the most common type of waterfront structure supporting inland marine terminals. Industries that depend on inland rivers and barges to ship and receive bulk materials utilize mooring cells to support barge fleets. Multiple issues have been discovered with aging mooring cells, stemming from a lack of maintenance, environmental exposure, wear and tear from standard usage, and advanced age. These issues primarily take the form of corrosion, which amplifies other forms of deterioration and damage with mooring cells. In many instances, repairs can be made to mooring cells to increase the service life while maintaining the capacity of the structure at a reduced cost, and with a reduced down-time commitment, when compared with a complete replacement. Best practice engineered mooring cell repairs include panel patches of specific areas, partial cell bands, and full cell bands. Each repair method offers different cost and service life benefits. This paper will describe common observed deterioration, important considerations for repairs versus replacement, including cost, service life, and the ability of the structure to meet the demand of facility operations, and common methods and best practices for the repair of mooring cells.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Winter Moorings facility in Algonac, Michigan, consists of a 200-foot (61-meter) long solid-fill wharf owned by the city of Algonac (City) and leased by the USCG. The wharf, comprised of a steel sheet pile bulkhead and timber deck, is used for supporting USCG 140-foot (43-meter) Bay Class Ice Breaking Tugs to break up ice within the Great Lakes and inland waterways. In spring of 2013 the wharf suddenly failed, resulting in substantial settlement of the bulkhead, deck, and backland area, and translation over the entire 200-foot (61-meter) length of the bulkhead. The repair project for the bulkhead featured an aggressive schedule to restore operations to the facility and had a limited construction budget to minimize financial exposure for the leased property. To meet the budgetary constraints, the USCG used an innovative design which included the re-use of suitable portions of the existing anchor system, non-traditional material selection, and a simplified mooring and berthing system. This paper discusses the factors that led to the bulkhead failure; the techniques used to efficiently evaluate the failure; the challenges associated with the design; and the design approaches used to meet the construction budget.

This paper will discuss aspects around the design and construction of the $112M design-built U.S. Navy Pier 12 replacement at Naval Base San Diego in California. The paper will highlight the importance of all parties involved in both the design and construction phases participated with a partnering spirit to achieve a successful project. The pier layout to accommodate a series of U.S. Navy ships with various geometries and constraints is critical for achieving an operationally well-functioning pier and the layout process will be explained. An environmentally friendly solution for recycling the old demolished pier will be presented. The pier is in a seismically active zone and some of the features based on the seismic design will be addressed. Examples of challenges both during the design and construction phases will be presented, including solutions to the challenges.

Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Washington State Ferries (WSF) are replacing the aging and seismically vulnerable parts of the Seattle Ferry Terminal at Colman Dock in Seattle to maintain its critical role as a regional multimodal transportation hub. The project includes new concrete trestles, terminal building, and other structures—all to be supported on driven pipe piles and drilled shafts. The project site is located in an active seismic zone. Coupled with high seismic demands, the offshore site is underlain by non-liquefiable soft silt, overlying liquefiable silt, and overlying glacial soils. The main geotechnical and structural challenge is lateral instability of the soils overlying the glacial soils and the consequential impact on the driven pipe piles and drilled shafts. Advanced soil-structure interaction (SSI) analyses using numerical modeling—rather than the conservative empirical approaches—were performed and peer-reviewed to optimize the design. The analyses overall resulted in shorter pile embedment into the glacial soils.

As part of the Port of Long Beach’s effort to expand and modernize several of its terminals and infrastructure, a state-of-the-art fireboat station will be reconstructed at Pier F Berth 202. The proposed fireboat station consists of a pile-supported fireboat bay on the waterside and a fire station building on the land side of an existing dike slope. Being an essential structure, the fireboat station is designed to be operational during the building code design earthquake (DE). The site for the fire station was developed several decades ago by constructing multi-lift rock dikes and placing dredged fill materials. During design earthquake, the fill materials are highly liquefiable and will potentially cause large lateral deformation and seismically induced vertical settlement. The buried rock dike, which may include potential armor rock and be susceptible to large lateral deformation during the seismic event, poses challenges to design and construction of the proposed fireboat station building. Among various options considered and evaluated through value engineering, jet grouting was chosen as the most practical and cost-effective option to improve the ground to mitigate lateral slope deformation and to support the fire station building. This paper summarizes the geotechnical investigation, site characterization, foundation options considered, and engineering analyses and criteria that led to developing the jet grout improvement scheme.

Over the last 10 years, the Port of Cartagena has experienced dramatic growth. The terminals of Manga and Contecar, operated by Sociedad Portuaria de Cartagena (SPRC) have been the engines for this remarkable growth. To achieve this growth, Manga Terminal had to be modernized and expanded while Contecar Terminal had to be developed from a sleepy one-berth terminal into a bustling, state-of-the-art, three berth facility. The development of these terminals included the full gamut of planning, design, and construction of improvements ranging from dredging to reclamation; from dikes to marginal berths; from utilities to paving; from distribution sheds to gate facilities. Along the way, many geotechnical challenges had to be overcome due to the poor soil conditions. To overcome the geotechnical challenges, virtually every technique within the geotechnical engineering toolbox was implemented. This paper describes what challenges were encountered, what techniques were implemented, and what lessons were learned along the way.

In preparation for larger New Panamax container vessels at the Wando Welch Terminal (WWT), and in conjunction with the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) embarked on a project to increase the container lift height of four existing ship-to-shore (STS) Gantry cranes in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of the methods used to accomplish the STS crane improvements in an active container yard instead of the traditional on-wharf location. The case study discussion will include the identified construction challenges and risks along with lessons learned from the coordination efforts with operations, the outcome of the field measurements of the raised STS Gantry crane performance, the importance of a well-defined performance specification for future STS Gantry crane raising projects, and the capital cost and schedule impacts when compared to the purchase of a new crane.

This paper focuses on the seismic performance of a pile-supported pier structure considering the potential for large-scale, earthquake-induced, slope deformations controlled by a layer of soft clay. The assessment incorporates the strain-dependent shearing resistance of the soft clay from moderate strains associated with peak dynamic strength, to intermediate strains at residual strength, and ultimately large strains at fully-remolded strength. Primary challenges for the project included drilling through an existing rock fill to obtain high-quality samples of the underlying soft clay for laboratory characterization of the static, cyclic, and post-cyclic stress-strain behavior of the clay. This paper underscores the importance of the laboratory testing for evaluation of the structural performance of a pile-supported pier structure impacted by permanent foundation movements during earthquakes. Structural aspects of the assessment are presented by Soderberg and Liu as part of the Proceedings of the Ports ’19 Conference.

The wharf at the Fore River Shipyard was built for shipbuilding circa 1960; recently, it was home to the USS Salem, a permanently-moored retired U.S. Navy heavy cruiser that served as a museum. True to its intended purpose, the wharf is a robust structure comprised of a thick reinforced concrete superstructure supported by many steel H-piles. In 2013, the project team performed a condition assessment of the wharf and discovered that many of the H-piles were significantly deteriorated, some with full thickness section loss at the low-tide elevation. This discovery forced the team to change the investigative approach for fear of collapse, only collecting as much data as necessary to understand the stability of the wharf. Meanwhile, the team performed three-dimensional, non-linear analyses that consider non-uniform pile deterioration to assess the likelihood of collapse and possible collapse mechanisms.

Materials dredged from seabed and construction waste soils have been used for land reclamation for the development of sea ports in Singapore. Ground improvement employing surcharge and flexible drains are employed to accelerate the ground settlement. This article first examines the characterization of the inhomogeneous fill ground before ground improvement. It then evaluates the gain in soil strength and observed settlement of the reclaimed land after ground improvement. By comparing the soil properties before and after ground improvement, it is established that soil strength measurement is the most reliable mean to evaluate the effectiveness of the adopted ground improvement scheme. Other soil test data such as pre-consolidation pressure and moisture content do not provide convincing evidence. For the observed ground settlement during ground improvement, it is found necessary to interpret the settlement data with proper consideration including height of surcharge at various locations and the presence of surcharge and construction activities nearby.

The use of building information modeling/management (BIM) is an emerging tool within the ports and marine community. Leveraging BIM tools to reduce field effort during design and reduce risk is paramount in this age of efficient, high-performance construction. This paper discusses the collaboration techniques used to locate, coordinate, and communicate the design of the pier extension for the U.S. Navy. The pier extension connected to an existing facility and required seismic separation between the two structures and utilities. Traditionally, as-built drawings, coupled with exhaustive site reconnaissance, is used to establish and verify the existing structure. To eliminate this unnecessary effort, laser scan technology was employed to create a digital replica of the existing facility allowing designers to perform virtually unlimited site reconnaissance. Laser scans and the subsequent 3-D model eliminated the need to perform additional site visits and increased coordination productivity in a virtual software environment across multiple engineering disciplines.

The Port of Long Beach and Long Beach Container Terminal brought online two phases of the $1.493B Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project in 2015 and 2017 with completion of Phase 3 scheduled for 2020. A key component of this project is electrification and automation of cargo handling equipment that are typically diesel-powered on traditional terminals. Under construction since 2011, the project’s phased roll-out is continually providing a clearer view of the terminal’s power demand once Phase 3 goes live. Historic power data for automated facilities comparable to the Middle Harbor Terminal was not available when design began in 2005, which challenged efforts to master plan future terminal power demands. The topics discussed in this paper include: an analysis and summary of the current Middle Harbor Terminal load profile, load comparisons to estimates used during the design phase, electrical infrastructure necessary to accommodate the terminal power demands, and guidelines for estimating electrical power demand in future automated terminal designs.

The second comprehensive condition assessment of the Middle Breakwater was performed between 2010 and 2014 to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a basis for the planning of future repairs, maintenance, and improvements. The assessment indicated that the breakwater did not settle since construction and that the breakwater is vulnerable to the combined effects of waves, high water levels, and earthquakes. For the 12-foot (3.7 m) 100-year significant wave height, the 10-ton (9.1 metric ton) armor stone appears correctly sized. In a seismic event, the breakwater’s clay and sand core could be susceptible to liquefaction and deformation. The breakwater provides adequate short wave protection to ships at berths anywhere in the port, except for service boats at Pier F. With a median annual frequency of failure of 0.0309, which translates to a return period of approximately 32 years, the wave hazard is the dominant hazard.

The MILCON P-547 Power and Propulsion Facility (P-547) objective is to provide a single point venue for U.S. Navy Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) program managers to conduct full scale testing for vessel propulsion systems at the Philadelphia Navy Yard (PNY). The objective is achieved by repurposing areas of the existing Building 633 high bays, constructing a high bay building extension (HBBE) addition to Building 633, and constructing a waterfront relieving platform along the 16^th Street wharf for transferring propulsion test equipment into the facility. P-547 will provide the necessary infrastructure improvements to allow the transportation of the propulsion equipment from the Sea Shuttle barge in the Reserve Basin to the new High Bay Building Extension. Lessons learned from the project include the importance of incorporating utility expansion and phasing into the design of a new wharf structure at an existing facility, specifying specific testing and coating procedures for test piles that will be used as production piles, and providing the contractor additional guidance on dimensions for support of excavation for mass concrete structures.

This paper provides a detailed discussion on the structural design recommendations and methodologies to be presented ASCE COPRI Manual of Practice for the Seismic Design of Bulkheads (SDB). The manual will be published in early 2020. The use of limit equilibrium design methodology is prevalent in the current state of practice. However, this methodology does not provide accurate bulkhead deformation, associated upland deflection, and resulting impact on the infrastructure retained by a bulkhead. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on design methodologies such as pseudo-static non-linear soil spring analysis. This methodology considers the non-linear behavior of the soil (passive resistance mobilized with varying deflection), resulting force distribution and deflections, thereby providing a means for performance evaluation. The SDB Task Committee has developed a coherent set of design recommendations based on detailed review of available references and current advances on pertinent topics. These include discussion on performance limits, allowable stresses, embedment depth calculation, P- delta effects, and structural detailing. The recommendations are developed in conjunction with geotechnical design experts to harmonize the overall design process. Separate, companion papers will discuss related geotechnical design issues and an idealized case study demonstrating the methods to be outlined in the manual.

Starting in 1878 and lasting nearly four decades, San Francisco transformed hundreds of acres of tidal mudflat into a major deep water port by building a three mile long seawall, a continuous bulkhead wharf, and over forty finger piers. A century later, maritime cargo has moved on and this area of the port has transformed to serve a changing city. The Embarcadero Seawall is still there, and now protects over 500 acres of dense city and port land including portions of downtown, a baseball stadium, a waterfront promenade, a multi-modal transit corridor, regional ferry terminals, a cruise terminal, lifeline utility infrastructure, and a national historic district containing over half of the remaining finger piers. Recognizing the importance of the seawall today, the port completed initial studies for sea level rise in 2012 and earthquake vulnerability in 2016. These studies indicated that increased flooding from sea level rise is likely to inundate portions of downtown by 2050 and that the next major earthquake would likely damage most of the seawall beyond repair, impairing emergency response, risking lives, and forever altering the historic fabric. In response, the city has created the Seawall Earthquake Safety and Disaster Prevention Program, a $5B program to strengthen or replace this vital piece of infrastructure over the next 30 years. Program development is underway and the first phase of improvements is budgeted at $500M with completion by 2026. This paper will provide an overview of the program, from initial studies through planning and program development.

Throughout the 1920s and ‘30s, numerous voter-approved bonds were used to fund construction of ports in the western United States. These port facilities are approaching their 100-year service life. Without major retrofitting, these aging structures fail to meet the seismic safety requirements in the current design codes. The owners have a choice to seismically retrofit the facility or build a new one. Retrofits generally have advantages of lower costs and less downtime of the facility during construction. This paper presents a novel approach and innovative engineering solutions in seismic retrofit of the former Port of Oakland’s 9th Avenue Terminal, a large wharf, built in the 1930s, at the Brooklyn Basin in Oakland, California. The paper will discuss how the design team integrated site-specific seismic hazard assessment and performance based seismic retrofit design criteria with a nonlinear pushover analysis to meet the required seismic performance requirements in a cost-effective, constructible, and reliable manner.

In November 2006, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles took an unprecedented joint action to improve air quality in the South Coast Air Basin by adopting the San Pedro Bay Ports clean air action plan (CAAP), a sweeping plan aimed at significantly reducing the health risks posed by air pollution from port-related mobile sources, specifically ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment, and harbor water craft. Both ports recently updated the CAPP in November 2017, with the stated purpose of becoming even greener to support the ultimate goal of zero-emission infrastructure for goods movement. To achieve this, the two ports have developed strategies that include the introduction of clean vehicles and equipment, infrastructure, freight efficiency, and energy planning. Several port-wide projects have therefore been identified to demonstrate the feasibility and cost effectiveness of implementing these concepts.

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) Maintenance Division is responsible for public infrastructure within the port complex, including the potable water system, the sewer and pumping stations, storm water pumping and drainage systems, street lighting, docks and wharves, maintaining the navigable waterways free of debris and obstructions, minor street repairs, landscape and grounds maintenance and cleanup, traffic accident cleanup and damage repairs of the port’s equipment, fleet of vehicles and boats, in-house commercial dive team, and buildings that are not assigned to tenants. Part of the Maintenance Division is the Harbor Marine Maintenance Group (the group), which is the team responsible for maintaining the 4,600 acres (18.6 km²) of waterfront assets. The in-house commercial dive team is part of the group. A two-story administration building was upgraded at Pier D, Berth 48, for the group’s use as the dive team needed a docking facility for their small craft vessels. A floating dock was designed and built to facilitate the team’s safe and efficient operations. This paper presents the project constraints, the dock alternatives considered, the design/construction lessons learned, and the innovative features that resulted in successful project completion.

Vessels are getting larger in size and volume capacity to streamline the transport of goods. Current vessel sizes calling at the Port of Long Beach (POLB) have increased up to 18,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and are continuing to increase in size. The aging wharf structure at Pier J, Berths 245–247, needed an upgrade to the structural capacity of the landside crane rail for the newer and taller ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to accommodate these larger vessels. The upgrade had to avoid disruption to the operator, who services approximately 2,000,000 TEUs per year. This paper presents the evaluations/analyses required and the design alternatives considered for the upgrade at Pier J. In addition, design/construction lessons learned and highlights of some of the innovative features that resulted in significant savings for construction costs and schedules are discussed.

The three-mile long Port of San Francisco northern seawall was built more than a century ago to reclaim hundreds of acres of tidal mudflat and transform them into a major deep water port. The seawall was constructed by dredging a trench through soft Young Bay mud, filling the trench with rock, and building a bulkhead wall. The seawall retains up to 40 feet of potentially liquefiable heterogeneous fills. The soft foundation soils and retained fill are subject to significant strength degradation during strong shaking, which can lead to large displacements that can undermine the structural integrity and function of the seawall. The geotechnical approach adopted to assess the seawall seismic vulnerability emphasized collection of high quality geotechnical data and rigorous numerical analyses with appropriately calibrated constitutive models. The benefits include a reliable, rather than conservative, assessment of vulnerability which eliminates overengineering and allows the port to confidently prioritize retrofit funds.

COMPAS, one of the largest solid bulk-handling operators in Colombia, has embarked upon a simultaneous program of upgrade and expansion at two of its critical facilities. The paper will describe how adopting custom precast concrete elements allowed executing schedule-sensitive upgrade works in the operational terminals minimizing downtime. The first terminal described in the paper is located in Barranquilla (BAQ) on the west bank of the Magdalena River while the second terminal is located in Tolu in the Gulf of Morrosquillo.

A precast, prestressed concrete float was designed to serve as the end berth for the new Alaska Class Ferry (ACF) day boats at the Haines Ferry Terminal, Alaska. The ACF day boats are expected to enhance the loading/unloading operations through the use of bow and stern doors. The concrete float will enable loading/unloading of the ACF without the need for complex operations during significant tidal fluctuations up to 30 feet (10 meters). The concrete float designed is 150 feet long (46 meters), 120 feet wide (36.5 meters), and 17.5 feet deep (5.3 meters). The float will be held in position by a guide-pile dolphin system. Access to and from land will be provided by two 140-foot-long (43 meters) transfer bridges. The float will be fabricated at an off-site plant, towed to site, and installed at its designated location. This paper is focused on discussing the design of an entirely precast concrete floating berth.

ASCE/COPRI 61-14 Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves is a standard developed by a group of practicing structural and geotechnical engineers, owners, and academics with specific expertise in marine and waterfront infrastructure, intended to reflect the current state of practice for seismic design of pile-supported piers and wharves. ASCE 61-14 offers no guidance to prevent local buckling of the pile shell for either hollow or concrete-filled pipe piles. For the next edition of ASCE 61, a task group was formed to review the available research, evaluate the existing strain limits in the code, and recommend updates, if deemed necessary, to the provisions. This paper summarizes its findings and proposals.

The oldest continually operated port facility in Guatemala, the Terminal Ferroviaria de Puerto Barrios, has seen many changes from its original construction in 1880 as the Guatemalan Northern Railway’s Caribbean terminus to its current use as a modern deep-draft container port. Completed in August 2015, the latest phase of modernization consists of a pier widening project designed to provide 250 linear meters (660 feet) of berth with the operational space and structural capacity for working gearless container vessels with state-of-the-art post-Panamax mobile harbor cranes (MHCs). Although the pier expansion enabled a large increase in productivity, the implementation was challenging because the operator could not allow a berth to be taken out of service without making other provisions for continued stevedoring. In addition, the difficult subsurface conditions, high seismic risk, and the need to reconcile the relatively weak and brittle behavior of the existing pier with a modern ductile plumb-pile structure, presented the project team with a challenging set of tasks to overcome within a very short nine-month design and construction program. The project also includes redevelopment of the existing container yard, including new infrastructure designed to support the implementation of a dedicated rubber-tired gantry (RTG) yard crane operation. The berth improvements and expansion, coupled with the container yard redevelopment, are planned to maximize the productivity of a 15-hectare container terminal and reach the operational goal of 1 million TEUs per year of container throughput. This paper discusses the innovative solutions to design, program management, and construction sequencing that were required to bring the project to a successful conclusion. Elements, such as the procurement and installation of a temporary (now permanent) floating pier extension, owner-procured large-diameter steel pipe piles, fast-track design and construction program, a highly efficient combination of precast and cast-in-place concrete construction, and an incentivized local contractor, were all essential ingredients for the success of this redevelopment program.

This paper describes a $16M rehabilitation program of a 1960s vintage, reinforced concrete marine oil terminal at the Port of Long Beach intended to enhance the performance and operational life of this critical infrastructure. The program involved replacement of the fender system, upgrading of the mooring hardware, improvement of the cargo transfer system, and comprehensive seismic strengthening of two berths. A key feature of the project was phasing work and regulatory submittals to minimize disruption of transfer operations during construction and permitting delays. This ongoing, 6-year program includes numerous innovative design features to improve operational safety and extend the operational life of the terminal at a cost well below that of complete replacement.

This paper will discuss the challenges and opportunities that the Port of Los Angeles encountered during the design and construction of the Berth 240 A, B, C Seawall Repair and Backland Improvement project within an operating oil terminal. The designed rehabilitation included bulkhead wall repair, slope reinforcement and stabilization, and grout injections to fill voids and to compact the soil behind the seawall. The repair is expected to extend the life of the existing seawall by approximately 10 years. Port of Los Angeles performed a value engineering analysis and used a state-of-art polyurethane grout injection method that provided cost and time savings. The method minimized interruption to terminal operations during the repair construction, was safe to marine environments, and complied with stringent state regulations. This project is a prototype for the Port of Los Angeles and sets the precedence for future design/repair projects that include underground voids in their scope.

The King County Department of Transportation solicited a design-build contract for the replacement of a floating dock for its regional water taxi in Puget Sound. The new 117-foot (35.7-meter) long mono-hull, open-cell concrete floating dock (float), with a raised aluminum pedestrian platform, allows for the simultaneous berthing of two vessels. This paper outlines the features of the float and discusses how the contractor collaborated with the owner to successfully deliver the float, within the accelerated design and fabrication schedule, while minimizing the risks to the owner and the design-build team.

Port facilities experience seabed scour as a result of high-velocity propeller wash directed towards the berth structures, in particular during arrival and departure maneuvers. This scouring action can not only undermine the structural integrity of the marine structures, but also contribute to variations in the bottom profile due to deposition of the scoured material in other areas. This paper presents an overview of the analysis of vessel-induced bottom velocities and design of scour protection systems at Cruise Terminals 1 and 3, Canaveral Port Authority (CPA). Topics covered include propeller wash analysis and modeling, types of scour protection measures considered, lessons learned from previously installed systems, and how those lessons were applied to improved scour protection design at the new Cruise Terminal 3.

The San Francisco Fire Department is acquiring a new floating fire station. A new pile- supported pier structure will connect to the fire station with an access ramp. The new pier piles will extend down through the existing 100+ year old seawall rock embankment, through a weak and thin, 10 ft (3 m), layer of consolidated bay mud below the embankment, into a stiffer alluvial layer and bedrock below. This paper discusses methods and findings for this project, including challenges encountered and suggestions for future projects. Topics include: soil dynamic shear strength obtained from testing; estimated seawall seismic movement; piling response; comments on ASCE 61 design requirements; methods and findings for evaluating the pile pinning strength; and seawall bulkhead arching across the site due to adjacent larger seawall movements.

The East Waterway, an operable unit of the Harbor Island Superfund Site in Seattle, Washington, is one of the most active commercial waterways in the Pacific Northwest. After more than 20 years of study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a cleanup remedy for this 1.5-mile-long (2.4-kilometer-long), 157-acre (63.5-hectare) waterway. The remediation of large, complex, urban contaminated sediment sites presents a unique set of technical and administrative challenges. This paper presents the key challenges for implementing cleanup, including: 1) controlling recontamination during dredging in an active waterway that may take up to 10 years to complete; 2) cleaning up 12 acres (4.9 hectares) of sediment in limited-access underpier areas; and 3) understanding the unique physical processes that affect long-term site concentrations following cleanup. Because these three elements will substantially affect project performance, they must be considered during remedial design and construction efforts.

The Port of San Francisco is a historic urban waterfront supporting a variety of businesses, transportation, tourism, and more. As part of a large rehabilitation project, the port is performing a port-wide multi-hazard risk assessment, which includes an earthquake vulnerability assessment. This assessment includes seismic evaluation of structures for both inertial and kinematic (ground displacement) demands. Since a detailed seismic evaluation of every single structure along the waterfront is neither feasible nor cost-effective, the engineering team is tasked with characterizing over 50 marine structures by a limited selection of representative structures. Based on a suite of seismic analyses, the team develops a set of seismic capacity curves for every representative marine structure on the waterfront. This paper discusses the process of selecting representative structures which capture the key structural variations, the methodology used in performing the seismic analyses, the approach to developing the capacity curves, and key takeaways to help guide project teams in similar port-wide risk assessments.

The Downtown San Francisco Ferry Terminal Expansion project included an improvement to the existing berthing facility, the construction of two additional berthing slips, and the expansion of the terminal landside structures (the “Ferry Plaza”). The Ferry Plaza consists of a new concrete deck structure supported by steel pipe piles. A performance-based seismic design approach was chosen for the design of the Ferry Plaza using two hazard levels consistent with the requirements of local and national codes and guidelines. This paper addresses: 1) the two performance acceptance criteria and strain limits associated with both performance levels; 2) the methodology used in modeling and analyzing the structure; 3) the combination of inertial and kinematic loading effects that were incorporated into the analysis; and 4) the pile-deck connection design developed to accommodate the large demand displacement.

The Port of Alaska has embarked on a multi-phase modernization program that includes the development of a new petroleum and cement terminal (PCT) berth. The new terminal is being designed for a minimum 75-year service life as an essential facility, critical to maintaining immediate post-earthquake serviceability to support the region’s post-earthquake response. The new terminal is located in an aggressive marine environment with numerous design challenges including design ground motions associated with a magnitude 9.3 subduction zone earthquake, weak foundation soils, and shoreline conditions that are vulnerable to large-scale seismic displacements. This paper presents generalized subsurface conditions, in situ and cyclic laboratory testing data, and the results of nonlinear, effective stress, time history analysis of the proposed pile supported terminal structure, and deep soil mixing (DSM) ground improvement zone. On November 30^th, 2018, after the completion of the ground improvement, the Port Mackenzie M7.0 earthquake occurred approximately 12 km from Anchorage. A summary of post-seismic observations at the PCT site is presented.

Geotechnical design of anchored bulkheads is largely dependent on the static and seismic increment of active lateral earth pressures acting on the bulkhead, and the lateral resistance provided by the passive earth pressure and anchor systems. The geotechnical design approach for bulkhead design under earthquake conditions has historically been based on approaches developed for dry, uniform soils, rigid walls, or piles, with adjustments intended to account for wall flexibility. Considering the limitations associated with these historical procedures and the widespread adoption of performance-based seismic design principals in contemporary port practice, the ASCE COPRI Task Committee for Seismic Design of Bulkheads has reviewed existing design methods and developed a supplemental approach that supports the need for deformation-based seismic design of anchored bulkheads. This approach will be part of a new guidelines document for seismic design of anchored bulkheads. This paper summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of current seismic design methods, and provides suggested practice-oriented, force- and deformation-based analysis approaches for use by geotechnical engineers. A companion paper will discuss related structural design issues. The guidelines are anticipated to be published in early 2020.

Seismic design procedures and recommendations for bulkheads are sparse and can be inconsistent. Therefore, the Seismic Design of Bulkheads (SDB) Task Committee was established under the Ports and Harbors Committee of the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The SDB Task Committee performed a comprehensive literature review, evaluated the current standard of practice, and developed a set of guidelines and recommendations for seismic design of planar flexible bulkheads, compiled in a manual of practice. To illustrate the manual’s application, an example design of a tieback bulkhead using both the limit equilibrium method and the soil spring method is provided. The example considers a large combi-bulkhead retaining multiple layers of liquefiable soils. This paper presents the manual’s example and describes the process of developing the geotechnical forces and applying the forces to the structural elements of the bulkhead in accordance with the manual’s recommendations.

A study of Harn et al. (2019) has concluded that steel pipe piles may suffer from premature buckling failure before reaching the strain limits in ASCE/COPRI 61-14 Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves (ASCE 61-14). Revised strain limits to prevent premature buckling have been proposed based on the piles’ D/t ratio which are much lower than the current strain limits for piles typically used for pile wharf design. This paper presents the results of a study carried out into effect on predicted performance with the revised strain limits on a typical container wharf. The options for adjusting the pile design to give a similar performance as predicted with the current strain limits have been investigated. Furthermore, the effect of a possible increase in plastic hinge length for piles founded in soft clays has also been briefly studied.

This paper describes development of seismic design standards for nonstructural components and nonbuilding structures in California State Lands Commission (CSLC), Marine Oil Terminal Engineering and Maintenance Standards (MOTEMS). For this purpose, a simple procedure is developed based on ASCE 7 standard and is simplified to structural configuration appropriate to those typically found in marine oil terminals. Underlying assumptions in the MOTEMS procedures and range of applicability are identified. It is shown that the MOTEMS procedure, in general, provides conservative estimate of forces, when compared with results from response history analysis, in nonstructural components and nonbuilding systems supported on marine oil terminals.

A $5B program is underway at the Port of San Francisco to strengthen or replace the three mile long seawall that protects the San Francisco waterfront, from Oracle Park to Fisherman’s Wharf. Part of the program is a multi-hazard risk assessment, evaluating the consequences of flooding due to sea level rise and earthquake damage to port infrastructure, such as the seawall, bulkhead wharves, over twenty finger piers, and buildings and businesses on those marine structures, including the iconic Ferry Building. The assessment also identifies key utilities and emergency response facilities, addressing concerns with financial loss, life safety, emergency response function, loss of historical architecture, and other factors. This paper describes key factors pertaining to the seismic portion of the risk assessment, including development of seismic fragilities for the marine structures and overwater buildings and describing how this will be used for prioritizing repairs and upgrades. This paper is one of a group of papers presented in a special session specifically dedicated to this program.

The M_w 7.8 2016 Ecuador earthquake caused significant damage to the province of Manabí where the Port of Manta is located. The port has several facilities including a rockfill breakwater, two international piers, 17 small fishing marginal wharves, buildings, several storage yards, and roads. Most of its infrastructure experienced different levels of damage. After the earthquake, the port’s infrastructure went through a systematic process that included post-earthquake inspections and evaluations, the rehabilitation design of existing infrastructure, and the design of new facilities. Liquefaction and soil lateral spreading were determined as the main causes of the port damage. This paper presents the studies performed in order to seismically rehabilitate the facilities of the Port of Manta. First, the seismic damage is reported in every structure. Then, the paper describes the field and the analytical studies performed in order to determine the cause of the damages. Finally, the paper includes a description of the seismic rehabilitation strategies proposed for the main facilities.

The interaction of inertial and kinematic demands is investigated using data from five physical models of pile-supported wharves using a large-scale geotechnical centrifuge. The wharf structures in this study were subjected to a suite of recorded ground motions, therefore associated superstructure inertia, and earthquake-induced slope deformations of varying magnitudes. The observations from these tests were used to provide insights on how to estimate large bending moments that developed at pile head and at depths significantly below a commonly assumed point of fixity that are associated with deep-seated ground deformations. Design recommendations are proposed on how to combine inertial and kinematic demands in a manner that is representative of the global structure.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard’s Pier 3, constructed between 1941 and 1942, is located in Bremerton, Washington. It was constructed similarly to bridges of that period, using large- diameter columns and massive footings. Due to the era of construction, ductile detailing was not provided at important connections within the lateral load path. In addition, the massive footings supported on timber piles and surrounded by soft clay are relatively flexible in the lateral direction. The combination of these factors has made seismic performance a primary concern for the pier, which, despite being nearly 80 years old, is in good condition. Consequently, the owner commissioned a study to investigate the feasibility of seismically retrofitting the pier to extend its useful life. This paper describes the detailed analysis that was performed to confirm the feasibility of retrofitting Pier 3 with lead-rubber bearings and provides an example of the potential cost savings from implementing such a retrofit.

The Chevron Eureka Terminal provides a critical economic lifeline to northern California as it is the only active marine-based petroleum terminal serving the Greater Eureka area (approximately 260 miles north of the San Francisco Bay Area). During the MOTEMS initial audit, the existing facility was found seismically deficient and required seismic retrofit. Moffatt & Nichol and geotechnical consultant EMI developed a float-in construction replacement platform design that minimized facility downtime, satisfied the regulatory requirements, and reduced risk of loss to the facility. This paper discusses the criteria and analytical methods used, the design and construction approach and their impact on material selection and operational impact, and presents lessons learned from the completed construction.

Structural codes rely on generalised target reliability indices, which are mainly derived for buildings. It is unclear, however, whether these indices are applicable to the specific risk-profile of quay walls, jetties, and flexible dolphins. In this study, target reliability indices for marine structures were derived from various risk acceptance criteria, such as economic optimisation, individual risk, societal risk, the life quality index, and the social and environmental repercussion index. This article uses a method to determine reliability targets distinguishing time-dependent and time-independent variables, because some important stochastic design variables in the design of marine structures, such as soil and material properties, are largely time-independent. The assessment framework of ISO 2394, taking into account social, economic, and environmental impact, has proven to be a solid basis for reliability differentiation. The method of approach considered in this paper can also be used for evaluating target reliability indices of other geotechnical structures.

In 2004, the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) adopted The Port of Los Angeles Code for Seismic Design, Upgrade and Repair of Container Wharves (POLA Seismic Code 2004) as the seismic code for container wharf structures. The POLA Seismic Code 2010 provided updates and revisions to the POLA Seismic Code 2004 and included changes in seismic design requirements to reflect conclusions of experimental research and technical studies conducted since its original publication. The Port intends to continuously update the POLA Seismic Code to keep pace with state of the art and practice design updates, and construction practices. This paper discusses the purpose, objective, and outline of the upcoming POLA Seismic Code 2020.

The Wilmington Waterfront Promenade is part of the Wilmington Waterfront Development Project envisioned and being implemented by the Port of Los Angeles (POLA). The promenade allows enhanced public access to the waterfront and for the local harbor community to expand its role as a key attraction and an economic driver for the Wilmington area by providing a connection between the Wilmington community and Berths 183–186 at the POLA and creating a “window to the waterfront.” The promenade project includes a bluff area, pedestrian promenade, an overlook pier, and a floating dock. Structural components of the project include a signature pedestrian bridge over existing railroad tracks, realignment of Water Street, and the demolition of an existing freight facility. This paper discusses the challenges and actions taken during planning and design to meet stakeholders’ expectations, code compliance, and budget requirements. Challenges include mitigation of settlement, utilizing an existing bulkhead wall, developing a new king-pile/sheetpile combi-wall, seismic design of the overlook pier, and passing vessel effect at adjacent berths.

The November 2016 M_w7.8 Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand caused severe damage to the infrastructure assets at CentrePort in Wellington, including the 585 m long Thorndon Container Wharf. The damage to this wharf was primarily due to liquefaction of the reclamation behind the wharf, and the presence of raker piles under the landward edge of the wharf. Kinematic ground movement resulted in the complete structural failure of numerous piles, especially those supporting the landward wheels of the two ship to shore container cranes. Substantial temporary works were required to secure the container cranes, maintain support to the wharf structure, and stabilise the reclamation behind the wharf, in order to resume container operations utilising the container cranes. This paper outlines the design considerations, development of the design, and other associated works to secure a 125 m operating length of wharf and reclamation to allow restoration of container operations.

The Port of Seattle, in preparation for the design and construction of an upgrade to a concrete container wharf, conducted a test pile program. Targeted at reducing construction costs and risks as well as environmental impacts, the program provided new insight into several areas related to pile driving in a shoreline environment. For the program, new high-strength, high-stress precast concrete piles were developed and tested. Greater geotechnical capacity of open-ended steel pipe piles was proven for the site soils. Regulatory approval of in-water rapid load testing was gained in the Pacific Northwest. Hydroacoustic noise, terrestrial noise, and vibration data were gathered for rapid load testing. Furthermore, the program was successful at reducing risk and cost of the larger construction project to follow and reducing its impact on the environment.

The risk of ocean-driven flooding in the vicinity of coastal infrastructure is increasing rapidly as sea levels rise. To facilitate future planning efforts such as port site selection, computer modelling can be performed to determine inundation impacts resulting from sea level rise, storm surge, extreme wind waves, and tsunamis. A vulnerability assessment of infrastructure in 14 communities in British Columbia, Canada, found that some communities will experience significantly shallower tsunami waves or were more sheltered from storm surge and wind wave effects than immediately adjacent shorelines, suggesting that relatively minor changes to a future port or marine terminal’s intended location could have a major impact on the potential level of damage resulting from an extreme ocean-driven event. Additionally, naturally-occurring sea formations such as coral reefs may lend themselves to mitigate the risks associated with extreme events. The methodology and results presented herein can be applied to site selection, infrastructure vulnerability assessments, and other similar evaluations.

This paper discusses UFC 4-152-01 Design: Piers and Wharves, in context of the DoD Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) Program, and the efforts of the Waterfront Working Group in the process of revising this UFC to provide minimum facility planning and design criteria for the efficient homeporting facilities of DoD vessels. The 2017 revision of UFC 4-152-01 Design: Piers and Wharves represents a continued tri-service effort to bring uniformity to the criteria for the planning, design, and construction of Department of Defense (DoD) piers and wharves. This UFC superseded MIL-HDBK-1025/1, which superseded Design Manual (DM) 25.1, which superseded DM-25 (Chapter 1)… going back to yard and dock criteria used to establish the first public shipyards and original naval bases. The intent of UFC 4-152-01 is to provide minimum facility planning and design criteria for pier and wharf construction. It has been developed from extensive re-evaluation of facilities and is intended for use by experienced waterfront engineers and facility planners for engineering studies and design. The contents cover piers and wharves including such considerations as overall dimensions and clearances, live load requirements, structural design (including ASCE 61 seismic design), fender systems, deck fittings, separators, access facilities, and appurtenances.

This paper will focus on planning/design of the overall Port of Everett Seaport Modernization Program, providing a case study of challenges associated with transforming from a breakbulk-only facility to diversify operations by retrofitting the wharf to accommodate new container cranes. This need to diversify/upgrade is an issue common to many ports or terminals, as the marine shipping industry as a whole continues to change rapidly with the trend toward larger vessels. This paper will focus on the largest project in the overall program, the South Terminal Wharf Upgrade, which is a unique combination of deck capacity increase and crane rail addition to accommodate both expanded heavy roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) and containerized cargo operations. The complexity was not from any one individual project element, but from combining these elements together into a single project while also addressing environmental constraints, project phasing, and funding requirements associated with multiple grants/loans.

ASCE/COPRI 61-14 Seismic Design of Piers and Wharves covers the seismic design of ancillary components in a brief Chapter 8. The only ancillary components covered in any significant detail are pipelines, container cranes, and marine loading arms. Significant new changes are proposed for the chapter on ancillary components in ASCE/COPRI 61-19. The chapter is proposed to be revised to become Chapter 9 to allow the addition of other new sections within the standard. Significant additional material has been added to the chapter to expand its coverage to additional types of ancillary components. The revised chapter also will include equations for calculating component accelerations and design forces directly, without reference to other standards, and in a way that reflects the dynamic behavior of pier and wharf structures. This paper and presentation will provide examples for many of the significant changes and discuss the purpose behind these updates.

The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) is the largest container port in the nation, serving as a gateway to both the Southern California region and the national transportation system. Currently, POLA is upgrading several container wharves to better serve its customer base, including increasing the depth at Berths 226–232 (Everport) container terminal to accommodate larger ships. The existing wharf at Berths 226–232 was designed in multiple phases using design criteria from 1971, 1977, and 1985. In addition, an operational upgrade was constructed using design criteria from 1995. Since then, the code has evolved to the current POLA Seismic Code 2010. An underwater bulkhead was designed for service/operational conditions and the operational level earthquake (OLE) event (earthquake having a 50 percent probability of exceedance in 50 years). This paper discusses the challenges faced in performing the operational upgrade with wharves designed with various code requirements.

This paper addresses key considerations for the design of a ca. 450 m long exposed container quay serving as part of a port expansion in the Port of Ashdod, Israel. The selected quay structure consists of a steel pipe pile supported concrete platform, with a combination stone/Antifer cube revetment below the platform for wave absorption. In developing the detail design, numerical wave modeling was carried out to assess the wave climate both in the construction area and at the existing (operating) port, considering the different stages of construction. To verify estimated wave forces and potential damage to the revetment and quay during both construction and operational stage, two-dimensional physical model testing was carried out in a laboratory wave flume. Pressure gauges were installed to measure the wave induced pressures on the model deck slab, pile caps, (optional) fascia beam, and approach slab.

The Port of Port Angeles (Port) operates and manages four deep-water marine terminals and associated support facilities on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula. The stormwater discharges from these facilities are covered under the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP). Based on a facility's standard industrial classification code, the ISGP requires monitoring and reporting of and sets benchmark limits for select water quality parameters. In 2014, the port's Terminal 3 (T3) and Cargo Surge Area (CSA) facilities exceeded the benchmark limits for copper and turbidity, requiring the port to implement stormwater treatment. The port hired Kennedy Jenks (KJ) to evaluate different treatment alternatives and recommend a preferred alternative. Based on its analysis, bench-scale testing, and port-operated pilot-scale tests, KJ recommended and designed a non-proprietary three-stage biofiltration treatment system and associated drainage infrastructure improvements for T3 and CSA. Construction of the biofiltration system was completed in fall 2018, and performance monitoring for the 2018–2019 wet season is ongoing.

Numerical wave modeling, mooring analysis, and downtime assessment were conducted to support the development of a new port at Tibar Bay, East Timor. A regional scale wave transformation model was used to determine the nearshore wave conditions and a local wave penetration model was developed to simulate the wave penetration from outside to inside the bay and assess the wave conditions at the terminal. Mooring analysis was conducted for two representative design vessels: the largest 7000 TEU and the smallest 400 TEU container vessels, moored at the vertical closed quay, to compute the ship motions and loads in the mooring lines and fenders. Finally, downtime for both vessels at the two berths was estimated per PIANC guidelines. The calculations suggested that the operational downtime for 7000 TEU is approximately 1% at both Berth 1 and Berth 2 and higher downtime was predicted for the smallest container 400 TEU since it is more sensitive to wave action. The estimated downtime was considered acceptable.

Recently completed improvements to South Carolina Ports Authority’s (SCPA) Wando Welch Terminal’s (WWT) 3,800-foot (1,158 m) wharf repaired and upgraded waterfront infrastructure to accommodate larger container vessels. As a result, the Wando Welch Terminal went from accommodating 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) container vessels to 14,000 TEU vessels. Improvements included the following items: replacing crane rail beams, crane rails, bollards, fender systems, pin sockets, and crane tie-downs for ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, adding new concrete foundation piles, and existing pile repairs. Construction phasing was incorporated to maintain vessel operations and accommodate the arrival of STS cranes during construction. The work was performed over 33 months and showed that with proper planning, the improvements could be made while maintaining berth operations and accommodating other concurrent capital projects. This paper presents the design and operational considerations, as well as the construction challenges, of improving the WWT wharf infrastructure.

The Port of Long Beach (POLB) initiated the Middle Harbor redevelopment project in 2010, and construction began in 2011. The project included demolition of existing Piers D, E, and F wharf structures; dredge and fill activities; ground improvements; placement of a rock dike revetment; and construction of a new wharf structure. When complete, the reconfigured Pier E will play an important role with more than 4,000 linear feet (1,219 meters) of container wharf that can accommodate the shipping industry’s largest vessels. The reconfigured Pier E is constructed in multiple phases, with the wharf construction split into three stages of construction within the construction phases. This paper presents the structural challenges overcome by the design team during the final wharf design of Berth E22 (Stage 3).

There are seaports with severe aircraft clearance limits that need to accommodate ever-increasing ship sizes. A low profile container crane with a boom that shuttles in and out is sometimes required to meet these demands. However, low profile cranes to service current generation container vessels present unique design challenges for the cranes and infrastructure. A low profile crane has extreme changes in center of gravity due to the heavy shuttling boom, which results in very large wheel loads on the wharf. This paper presents key considerations for the infrastructure supporting large low profile cranes, including large crane girder and pile capacities, electrical demands, and construction challenges associated with the project, such as phased construction and daily coordination to avoid interruptions to the operations. The focus will be on the Broward County Port Everglades Department new crane girder and wharf upgrade project, which covers about 1 mi (1.6 km) of waterfront.

This paper is a case history of a foundation design to support a flying amusement park ride located on a 120-year-old timber pier. The ride is Wings over Washington, a flying ride where passengers experience being a bald eagle soaring over locations from the Pacific coast of Washington to the central valley and everywhere in between. The ride is on a concrete foundation supported by steel piles surrounded by a timber pier. The value of this paper is to demonstrate how the design team worked to resolve diametrically opposing requirements to create a successful project and increase the body of engineering knowledge.