Largest U.S. Dredging and Landfill Project Completed
The Port of Los Angeles and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers celebrated the official completion of the largest dredging and landfill project in America—the Pier 400 Dredging and Landfill Program—on April 27. The project has created a 590-acre site from the ocean bottom at Port Los Angeles that will be home to the world's largest proprietary container facility to be operated by Maersk Sealand. The container facility is expected to bring in some $2 billion to the City of Los Angeles over a 25-year agreement.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter commended environmental efforts on the part of all agencies involved and cited several major environmental programs associated with the Pier 400 development project including:
- the restoration of the 600-acre Batiquitos Lagoon;
- the ongoing interagency restoration of the 900-acre Bolsa Chica wetlands;
- the development of more than 250 acres of productive shallow water habitat in the Port; and
- the protection of the endangered least tern.
Under contract with the Port of Los Angeles, the Pier 400 Constructors, a joint venture of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. and Connolly-Pacific Co., started the first phase of the project in the fall of 1994 and completed it in July 1997. They were also awarded the second phase of the project under a contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which began in July 1997. Both stages were completed at a cost of $338 million.
The conceptual and final design work for the project was completed under a Port contract with the Pier 400 Design Consultants, a joint venture of Frederic R. Harris, Inc. and Moffatt & Nichol Engineers.
Approximately 11 million tons of quarry rock was used to create retaining dikes and to protect the perimeter of the Pier 400 landfill. In addition, three miles of navigation channels were deepened to water depths of 50 to 63 ft; 63-ft-deep channels were deepened to 81 ft; and a 75-ft-deep shipping channel to the east side of Pier 400 was created. In all, 58 million yd3 of material were dredged to create the entire 590-acre site.
Edited by Kate Goff