ASCE Los Angeles Section

Long Beach

The Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program is a significant undertaking by the Port of Long Beach to connect and upgrade two existing shipping terminals into a single, state-of-the-art, unified and fully automated terminal, the first in the country. As Program Manager, ARCADIS provided construction management oversight and environmental services during phase 1 construction for 10 individual projects including the project referred to as Wharf/Backlands Redevelopment, Phase 1, Stage 1. Completed in May 2013, the new facility can handle twice the cargo capacity of the former terminals and provide an upgraded infrastructure.
Work under the first stage included construction of 1,400 ft. of new wharf and associated utilities, electrical improvements for shore to ship power, ground improvements, demolition of 4,000 ft. of existing wharf, installation of a CIDH retaining wall and jet grouting ground improvements, dredging and fill, including the Pier E extension and partial fill of Slip No. 1.  Additionally, a change order modified the slip fill containment dike to add a four lane roadway to connect Piers E and F. 

Wharf construction was a critical part of the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program. This portion of the program also included the dredge and rock construction of a new rock revetment slope and the construction of a new reinforced concrete wharf (deck) which allows the largest maritime container vessels (excess of 18,000 containers) to berth directly up to the wharf. Through good working relationships with the contractor and designers, the Construction Management team managed to minimize and/or mitigate any delays for the work.

The Stage 1 wharf contains approximately 800 24-inch, 120-foot octagonal piles weighing in excess of 6,000 pounds each. Each pile was driven through a 20-foot section of armor rock and quarry run material to a TIP elevation of EL.-100. Piles were placed 20 feet on center in each direction, except where the crane rails were located, in which case the piles were spaced approximately 6 – 7 feet apart.  2,400 piles were set deep enough into the ground to provide the stability required to support on-dock gantry cranes, cargo, and equipment; and were ultimately designed to withstand seismic activity, adverse weather, and fluctuating tidal conditions.  Upon completion of pile driving, divers were sent below to inspect and ensure that there were no failures after installation.

Furthermore, the wharf also supports the heaviest and largest gauge cranes in the country, fourteen (14) 120-foot gauge Tandem Lift Dual Hoist container cranes, and will provide shore-to-ship power outlets as well as support the new generation of ships. The future rail yard will allow more cargo to be moved by rail directly from the waterfront while removing 1,000 trucks per day from the roads. The overall $1.3B terminal reconstruction program will make the Port greener, cleaner and more competitive; while creating 14,000 new, permanent goods movement jobs throughout Southern California, and reducing air pollution by up to 50%.  At least 1,000 construction jobs during the 10 years of construction are anticipated to be created as part of the Middle Harbor.

Highlights of the redevelopment for Piers D, E & F and construction of Berth E26 Wharf & Backlands include:

• Keeping the tenant operational at all times – #1 priority
• Demolishing 100 years of infrastructure and replacing it with new infrastructure
• Coordinating project work with concurrent utility relocation Relocating the Tideland Oil Field, an active, revenue producing oil field and one of largest oil fields in the US, to coexist with the new terminal
• Slip widening and deepening in Pier D (slip 3), slip fill of approximately 22 acres in slip 1 (confined aquatic disposal for local dredging projects that have cleared)
• Importing dredge fill from outside sources in cooperation with the Los Angeles Region Contaminated Sediments Task Force
• Build-out of 175 acres of the total 350 acre terminal
• Approximately 1.1 million cubic yards of dredging
• Warf deck 1,400 lineal feet under this project total (Stage 1)
• 800 piles precast/pre-stressed 24 inch octagonal
• Cast and drilled hole (CIDH) retention wall/piles - 227 Piles - 4 foot diameter
• Installation of all utilities with the exception of sewers
• Excavation and installation of 260,000 feet of underground concrete encased conduit, underground pre-cast pull boxes, pre-cast vaults, pre-cast manholes, and a pre-cast tunnel vault
• Establishing base for future power source for all of Middle Harbor (cranes, shore to ship power, lighting, etc.)
• Coordination and installation of electrical components for future building and wharf projects
• Future waterside transition area for containers
• Infrastructure to support Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
• Blended staff project (Port staff and Arcadis staff)

This project had a significant land impact to the structure of Middle Harbor. The land included elements that had previously supported residential and commercial properties as well as oil fields. In addition to the variety of structures involved in the demolition, Port tenant activities continued with business as usual, the active oil fields on the property also maintained regular operations during the project, and various other projects were taking place simultaneously. Therefore, a key concentration of the Construction Management team was on sequence management. Utilizing staff augmentation, an investment in partnering, technical expertise across a myriad of disciplines, and dedication to the project at all levels was crucial to successful delivery of the first semi-automated terminal of this kind on the West Coast.

The construction management challenges and opportunities at Middle Harbor were many and diverse. As representatives of the Port of Long Beach Construction Management team, ARCADIS was challenged to meet tenant-driven milestones amidst a host of interrelated conditions such as a complex marine environment; multiple operators and stakeholders; known and unknown utilities; environmental mitigation, monitoring and compliance; and coordination of nine simultaneous construction projects.

One of the specific challenges the Contractor faced was driving each pile without encountering failures, while achieving the proper alignment for each of the piles. Some piles have experienced spiral cracking, concrete sprawling and failures at shallow elevations and some at deeper elevations.  The misalignments and failures have resulted in the need to drive replacement piles. The Construction Management team worked closely with the designers to develop typical acceptance criteria form, falsework revisions and issue corrective fix drawings for those piles driven out of alignment. The Construction Management team also worked closely with the contractor to timely communicate revisions, track changes and work on recovery schedules for production that was impacted due to failures and misalignments.

Environmental Protection
In keeping with the Port’s Green Port Policy and the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, this project will minimize or eliminate negative environmental impacts from shipping operations. To improve air quality and reduce environmental impacts, the Project includes:
• Shore power for ships
• Expanded on-dock rail to shift more than 30 percent of the cargo shipments from trucks to trains
• Cleaner yard equipment
• Electric rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes
• Green Flag Vessel Speed Reduction program requirements
• Use of low-sulfur fuels for ships’ main and auxiliary engines
• “Green building” (LEED) environmental standards
• Storm water pollution prevention
• Reuse or recycle waste materials such as concrete, steel, copper, and other materials during construction

In keeping with the Port’s Green Port Policy and the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, this project will minimize or eliminate negative environmental impacts from shipping operations, and improve air quality.

The Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, the modern terminal the Port is building in partnership with Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) and its subsidiary, Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT). Middle Harbor will operate almost entirely on electricity, including the rail-mounted stacking cranes and the yard vehicles that carry cargo between ships and the container yard. With dramatically increased on-dock rail capacity and all Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings, the terminal is expected to be the greenest in the world. 

Wharf construction was a critical part of the first phase of the Port of Long Beach’s Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program. This portion of the program also included the dredge and rock construction of a new rock revetment slope and the construction of a new reinforced concrete wharf (deck) - allowing the largest maritime container vessels to berth directly up to the wharf and utilize shore-to-ship power eliminating the use of diesel and reducing the negative environmental impact and improving air quality.

This project had a significant land impact to the overall structure of Middle Harbor. The land included elements that had previously supported residential and commercial properties as well as oil fields. In addition to the variety of structures involved in the demolition, Port tenant activities continued with business as usual; the active oil fields on the property maintained regular operations during the project; and various other Port projects were taking place simultaneously in adjacent areas.