Study: Port of Alaska Sheet Piles Have Design Flaws

The Port of Anchorage in 2010

The Port of Anchorage in 2010

A study by CH2M Hill commissioned by the Municipality of Anchorage found that the partially constructed open-cell sheet pile system is “not adequately designed to meet global stability and seismic displacements based on the design criteria.” The results of the $2.2M study by CH2M Hill are documented in two reports and the findings were presented to a March 8 Anchorage Assembly meeting. The Municipality will now hire a third party to review the reports and CH2M Hill’s recommendations for how to complete the project. The new design could cost up to $600M to construct. The Municipality took the project over in 2011 from the U.S. Maritime Administration after damage to some sheet piling was encountered. [Source: Alaska Journal of Commerce via ASCE SmartBrief. Image: Andrew Jensen/AJOC]