Full Issue (17 MB) - Pile Driving Contractors Association

pumped from the top of the pile to toe. When the grout exits
at the toe a grout clamp is attached and grout will be pumped
under a pressure of 100 psi until the grout becomes the consistency
of putty. The grout is allowed to set until the grout
cubes reach 4000 psi, which is typically overnight, to insure
adequate bond between the strand and the wall of the pile,
and then the post tensioned anchorages are removed.
Each pile weighs over 180,000 thousand pounds. Piles
were loaded onto the barges using specially designed Kevlar
slings to balance the weight of the piles. The cylinder piles
were all barged to the site, traveling approximately 1,520
nautical miles from Cape Charles, VA over a period of 12-14
days and 10 hours from Pass Christian Mississippi. The cylinder
piles from Bayshore Concrete were very efficiently towed
by Dann Ocean Towing using tandem barges and done in a
minimal amount of trips with each tow carrying up to 3,825
tons of cylinder piles.
While the canals had to be dredged to allow for the barges
carrying cranes and piles to get to the site, the environmental
impact was carefully considered. As the canals were dredged
of all the mud and silt it was pumped directly in the marsh
areas surrounding the area that had suffered a great reduction
of land during Hurricane Katrina
Piles are being driven by TMW, a joint venture of Traylor
Bros, Inc, Massman Construction Company and Weeks
Marine.
In addition to the cylinder piles, 2,534 closure piles are
being driven. These 18” square closure piles are being placed
“diamond shape” between the cylinders piles as show in the
diagram below:
This configuration is used the length of the storm surge
barrier piles to further strengthen the structure and provide
more protection.
The 1,267 cylinder piles included:
Over 114,000 Tons of Concrete
Over 18,000,000 Feet of Spiral Wire
Over 12,000,000 Linear Feet of Strand
• Q4 • 2009
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