Kinder Morgan Terminal dock 1 at Carteret, NJ is approximately 300 LF long and 30 ft wide, and timber pile supported high deck structure. A timber pile supported approach trestle connects the wharf to the land. The dock is used to service tanker barges and was in serious condition. Our team was retained to perform a thorough underwater inspection of Dock 1, review the construction and current condition of the existing dock and design the renewal of Dock 1 in a phased manner. The scope of work included developing several alternates for the construction of new breasting and mooring structures with the estimated construction costs for the client to review and select the most suitable alternate.
Permitting, performing the final design of the selected option, and providing construction inspection services were included in the scope of work. Static and dynamic mooring analysis were also performed to determine the mooring and breasting loads due to passing vessels. Due to the sites shallow bedrock depth, our team designed the new mooring and breasting dolphins with rock-socketed piles. Our engineers and inspectors were on site during all major construction activities including drilling, rock socket installation, rock socket testing, concreting and welding to monitor these activities. We also reviewed submittals and provided technical assistance to resolve field issues during construction. The Osterberg Cell (O-Cell) test was utilized to test the battered rock sockets. Our team worked closely with the contractor and testing agency to design the test since the O-Cell test has never been performed on a batter pile before. After careful planning, discussion and iterations of a testing routine, the batter pile was successfully tested.