Probing the Port of Los Angeles

McNeilan, Thomas W.; Foxworthy, John E.; ,

Probing the Port of Los Angeles

by Thomas W. McNeilan, (M.ASCE), Vice Pres.; Fugro-McClelland, Ventura, CA,
John E. Foxworthy, (M.ASCE), Project Manager; Port of Los Angeles, Plan 2020, Los Angeles, CA,

Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1993, Vol. 63, Issue 1, Pg. 66-68

Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

Geotechnical investigations can uncover nasty surprises. When conducted after the preliminary design, the results can force significant and costly changes or�even worse�lengthy delays. To avoid these problems, officials for the Port of Los Angeles' 2020 Plan (estimated to cost $550 million for dredging and landfill construction) sought design-level geotechnical information early in the planning process. The Port of Los Angeles is the major shipping facility for materials and products destined for or produced in the Southern California, basin an area that ranks as one of the world's largest regional economies. The 2020 Plan, which begins construction in 1994, calls for the creation of more than 1,000 acres of new land in the Port of Los Angeles to accommodate nearly 20 new liquid-bulk, dry-bulk, container and general cargo terminals. About one-third of the needed acreage will occupy land, along the southern limit of Terminal Island, created by previous dredging; this land will be designated Pier 300. The remaining acreage will comprise a new 582 acre landfill, Pier 400, in the outer harbor. As navigation channels are dredged to provide access to the new Pier 300 terminals, dredged materials will be placed to construct the first increment of Pier 400.

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