GEODesign was retained as the lead geotechnical engineer for redevelopment of this 42 acre site in Salem, Massachusetts, which will become a marine terminal providing heavy-lift deployment and logistics services for offshore wind infrastructure in the Northeast United States. The history of the site, much of which is situated on reclaimed land, dates back to the 1790s. Most recently, the site contained a coal and oil-fired power plant.
The scope of the project included landside improvements for storage of wind turbine components, as well as various wharf structures for berthing and mooring of transport vessels and wind turbine installation vessels. Historic and new subsurface investigations indicated a complex soil profile consisting of uncontrolled fill, organics, soft clays, and highly variable bedrock depths.
The Solutions Unearthed
- GEODesign performed analyses for landside improvements including slope stability and 3D settlement analyses, and provided various ground improvement schemes to limit the anticipated settlement to be within tolerances dictated by the owner. Ground Improvement options consisted of heavy-roller compaction, rammed aggregate piers, and geotextiles to distribute load.
- Wharf structures included mooring and berthing dolphins, as well as pile supported wharf structures supporting up to 6,000 psf live loads. GEODesign performed analyses on various bulkhead combi-walls and pile supported structures.
Due to the low bearing capacity of the clay, underwater deep soil mixing was specified at locations in the harbor to achieve sufficient bearing capacity for jack-up vessels.
Client: Crowley Wind Services, Inc.
