Miles of waterfront infrastructure exist and are used daily in the US and around the world. As many facilities have reached or surpassed their design life, much of this hidden infrastructure is in need of rehabilitation. Industries with operations at waterfront facilities face an immense task of discovering, cataloging, planning, and tracking of structures they may have never seen before due to their location under the water’s surface. Krech Ojard engineers employ a method of inspection and records system to enable clients to inventory, assess, and plan for decisions to repair or replace their aging infrastructure. Our clients, both public and private, are empowered with a visual record of existing conditions, recommendations for solutions and forward planning which they can use to map out decisions over time and keep this infrastructure in place with economical and feasible long term plans.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Saint Paul Port Authority (SPPA) sought to ascertain and record the condition of their underwater infrastructure. As the condition of much of the infrastructure was known to be reaching the end of its design life, the Port obtained the expertise of Krech Ojard’s marine engineers to provide a system for recording existing conditions on a location to location basis to provide an inventory record for each of their lease holders along the waterfront.
Krech Ojard & Associates was authorized by the SPPA to provide underwater inspection, engineering analysis, and forward planning recommendations for marine bulkhead walls and cells at three Dock Terminal locations within the Port system. The objective of the effort was to determine the general underwater condition and record evidence of damage, deterioration, or distress which could constitute risks to operations and that should be included in future capital planning for rehabilitation or replacement.
The inspections included 5000 plus linear feet of multiple sheet pile and cement bulkhead walls, cement caps and marine infrastructure. Above water and underwater imaging was used to provide a spatially linked inventory of infrastructure, condition, recommendations, and planning steps to assist with record keeping and forward planning.
Each of the Dock Terminals are utilized by different companies and required coordination and planning for each of their unique requirements along with the overall planning for the SPPA.
The first image in the project gallery of the opposite tab illustrates spatially linked image records produced from above and below water inspections. The second image is an aerial with corresponding section numbers to the scans and photography. This unique type of record keeping saves time in locating problem areas in the future and for directing construction and rehabilitation efforts and planning.
Underwater imagery was taken with sonar scanning tools during both winter through the ice and summer months.
Since these inspection and analysis projects, Krech Ojard has performed further inspections in the SPPA river systems for other clients, helping to assure facilities along the river system have forward planning and budgeting in place to take steps as rehabilitation becomes necessary.
