Hybrid Concrete-Steel Piles and Precast Concrete Deck Expedite Construction of Bulk Handling Wharf

As part of an ambitious expansion program, the Port of Barranquilla (Colombia) embarked on the development of a pile-supported multipurpose marginal wharf for Handymax bulk carriers in their main river terminal. Due to pile length constraints associated with the production of prestressed concrete piles as well as the presence of a competent limestone (coral)/marl stratum encountered at variable elevations, a hybrid piling solution consisting of prestressed concrete pile segments with variable length open-end tubular steel stinger welded at their tips was selected. The piles were high capacity, verified through extensive pile dynamic testing. A wide variety of precast concrete elements [reinforced concrete (RC) two-span beams, RC U-beams, pretensioned concrete deck panels, and RC cut off wall panels] were used for the deck construction. This expedited the wharf construction process. The project also involved the installation of a shoreline protection system both underneath the wharf and alongside the west bank of the river outside the wharf footprint. The combined hybrid pile and precast concrete deck solution lent itself to a very fast construction process. The use of hybrid piles with adjustable stinger lengths allowed the installation of piles in a site with erratic competent soil elevations while meeting the required axial load capacity, whereas the extensive use of precast concrete elements in the deck speeded up the deck construction by at least 3 months.