16 Wheeled RTG at Bayport Container Yard, Bayport, Texas

Cost Effective Solution Wins American Concrete Pavement Association's Silver Award

Project Background

Bayport Phase 2 Container Yard (CY6 North), Bayport, Texas

The 52-mile ship channel with nearly 200 private companies that make up the Greater Port of Houston is fast growing and is the No. 1 U.S. port in foreign waterborne tonnage. The Port Houston Phase 2 Container Yard development was needed to keep up with the demand for container traffic increases due to the Panama Canal expansion and petrochemical production along the Gulf Coast. Port Houston is experiencing increased demand for containerized export of petrochemical, agricultural, and other Texas-made products and imports of consumer items for Texas and national markets. 

Practice: Civil and Pavement

Sector: Ports

Location: Bayport, Texas

Services: Pavement Design, Subgrade Stabilization Design, Construction Phase Services

Example of Pavement Design and Construction at Bayport Container Yard in Bayport, Texas

The Problem

Container terminal facilities include vast expanses of pavement for storage of loaded and unloaded containers. This allocation of space is necessary to allow quick turnaround for ships using the Port.  With the advent of post-Panamax container ships after the expansion of the Panama Canal, which have up to double the container capacity of Panamax vessels, the terminal container yard space needed to expand in a quick, cost-effective way.

The Goal

  • Support heavy loads from container stacks, toppicks, and rubber-tired gantry cranes
  • Address high groundwater levels
  • Shorten construction schedule
  • Provide long-term pavement durability

Our Solution

The Port Houston chose Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam (LAN) to provide design and construction phase engineering services for the project.  LAN retained HVJ Associates® for pavement and geotechnical engineering services due to the firms' long history of collaboration on the Port Houston terminal projects and at the Bayport Terminal.  We reviewed historical data on materials specifications and previous construction work at Bayport Terminal and analyzed traffic loading data provided by POHA to determine the design traffic.  We performed pavement thickness design, pavement materials specifications, pavement construction design details, and construction phase services.

The pavement analysis included cross-section alternatives for Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC), Continuously Reinforced Concrete (CRCP), and Jointed Reinforced Concrete (JRCP) pavements for grounded storage, empty storage, and circulation road loading conditions. RCC was the primary recommendation based on cost analyses, construction schedule, and past RCC performance.

 

The Results

  • The project finished months earlier that using conventional reinforced concrete
  • Eliminated formwork, finishing, and reinforcing steel
  • Container Yard 6N construction project received the 2016 American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA) Silver Winner Award for Roller Compacted Concrete in the Industrial Category

Read article on Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam (LAN) Website

Read article on Associated Construction Publications Website

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