Summer Vacation 2024
With much of the country experiencing a full-blown heat wave over the last few weeks, it’s clear that summer is definitely upon us. And, let’s be honest, during the summer, we’re all thinking a little bit less about work and a little bit more about summer vacations. So we figured that there’s no better time for our monthly DuroTerra Dialogue to shift away from the normal technical or application focus to offer up some vacation destination experience.
This dialogue highlights a couple of projects that are prime summer destination locations. Still delivering the same theme of helping customers solve challenges with reliable Ductile Iron Pile solutions, but with a focus on places you may be visiting during your summer vacation. In particular, we’re heading off to the Tampa, FL area for some fun in the sun as well as to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. Wherever you decide to go, travel safe, enjoy the trip and have a great time with family, away from the grind. DuroTerra will be ready to help you address challenging deep foundation jobs when you return!
MAIN STREET LANDING MIXED-USE
New Port Richey, FL
Development of a mixed-use commercial and residential project in downtown New Port Richey included two buildings. The project was started in the mid-2000’s but ground to a halt during the economic downturn with only the shell of the first building complete and portions of the second building’s foundations constructed. After sitting idle for over a decade, developers restarted the project. Ductile Iron Piles were used during the original construction. Resuming construction required the completion of the deep foundation scope of work required to support the 4-story building. Ground conditions consisted of very loose to dense sand with isolated clay layers underlain by highly variable limestone rock. The driven Ductile Iron Pile system installed to achieve “set” and terminate on competent rock was well-suited to support the foundation loads ranging from 80 kips to 320 kips. Piles were driven to bear on rock with lengths ranging from 20 to more than 45 feet. With the Plug and Drive connection, all cut-off sections resulting from the variation in rock depths were used as starter pile sections to reduce waste. Series 118/7.5 piles were designed for a 40 ton working capacity (compression). Load testing confirmed the design with 0.32 inches of movement at the design load. A total of 96 piles were installed to complete the foundations for the second building. For more information, check out the project summary (link here).
MASS MARITIME ACADEMY CADET HOUSING
Bourne, MA
Construction of a new LEED-certified, 3-story, housing development on the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) campus required foundation support to transfer building loads through the fill and organic soils to the underlying medium dense to dense sand and gravel. In addition, the piling system needed to resist lateral loads induced from a possible storm surge given the proximity to the Cape Cod Canal. Ductile Iron Piles were selected as a cost-effective alternative over Pressure-Injected Footings (PIFs). The system also offered the benefit of the piling being a 100% recycled material. The exterior grouted displacement piles were designed with lengths of 25 ft to develop bonding in the underlying sand and gravel to meet a capacity of 50 tons (compression) and 2 tons (lateral). Testing was performed using a tension load test with an instrumented center bar. The Series 170/9.0 pile installed with a 270 mm (10.6”) diameter grout shoe was first tested up to 100 tons (200% DL) and rebounded. After successfully completing the required testing, the pile was reloaded up to 150 tons (300% DL) in tension to evaluate performance. The pile deflected approximately 0.5 inches at 300% of the design load. The 108 production piles were then installed in only 7 days. For more information, check out the project summary (link here).