CONTAINER & CARGO HANDLING

Settling down to business

19 years ago

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.

Even long-term settlement can be addressed with proper planning and design, claims Alan Alcorn, Moffatt & Nichol vice president. He cites the Port of Los Angeles Pier 400 project, which dealt with eight different material types and a number of different foundation conditions, but was able to operate with several types of loading equipment shortly after the driving surface was installed.

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.