Settling down to business
Tough times: the Port of Los Angeles Pier 400 project (pictured) managed to cope with widely varying material types and foundation conditions
Settlement, regarded by some as one of the huge unknowns in any land reclamation project, need not be a major problem, if reclaimed areas are subjected to a geo-technical improvement programme as part of the initial construction phase.
Adrian Hoyle, market director (maritime) of Royal Haskoning, points to the development of some of the UK’s east coast terminals, which has been carried out on fairly poor ground, sometimes with settlements in excess of one metre.
However, in such cases, piling (or ground improvement) of rubber tyred gantry beams becomes essential, although differential settlement can remain a problem for the operator. On very cheap developments, therefore, real, and sometimes ongoing restrictions, can be the downside, he notes.
Images for this article - click to enlarge
Unless otherwise stated, all images copyright © Mercator Media 2012. This does not exclude the owner's assertion of copyright over the material.
