July/August 2024 - 25

D F I A C T I V I T I E S
DFI 2024 Outstanding Project Award
Winner: Plaquemines LNG Driven Pile Megaproject
this size and length pile not typically
being used on land, the project team
had to develop a solution for handling
and installing the large 72,000 lb
(33,000 kg), 120 ft (37 m) long piles.
In 2023, Venture Global and the
project's engineering, procurement and
construction partner recognized the
need to diversify the pile types due to
geotechnical conditions and project
schedule requirements. The project
team developed and expedited a
detailed test pile program for driven
pipe piles and H-piles, as well as design
and execution of 41 cofferdams. Results
yielded the highest capacities for the
project and the client green-lighted
procurement for more than 9,000 pipe
piles for installation.
Winner
Every year, DFI recognizes the superior
work performed by its members on
projects related to geotechnical work,
deep excavations and deep foundations.
This year's Outstanding Project Award
winner is the Plaquemines LNG Driven
Pile Megaproject, submitted by Cajun
Industries. The award is being presented
at DFI's 49th Annual Conference
on Deep Foundations in Aurora, Colorado,
October 7-10.
The project is a new, 632-acre
(255 ha) liquid natural gas (LNG) export
facility located in Port Sulphur,
Louisiana, owned by Venture Global
Plaquemines LNG. The team started
with a modest test pile program,
employing only one pile driving rig, and
by project completion in May, its
contribution had expanded to 30 piling
rigs, pile installation across 15 diverse
scopes of work and providing a
dedicated workforce of more than 200
employees.
This work included single-piece
pipe piles up to 145 ft (44 m) long,
precast concrete piles up to 120 ft (37 m)
long, and 41 cofferdams with sheet
piles in lengths up to 80 ft (24 m) long as
well as 140 ft (43 m) long H-piles, pile
crushing and a comprehensive test pile
program featuring more than 150 load
tests. Overall, crews installed 18,300
piles of various types and sizes.
Beginning in early 2022, working
closely with the project's sitework contractor,
the team studied and designed
a floodwall system of 7,600 wall ft
(2,300 m) of steel sheet piling and four
reinforced construction access floodgates
among other components.
Following the floodwall scope, a
precast concrete pile test program
yielded positive results allowing crews
to proceed with production piles for
various locations across the site.
Facing numerous logistical constraints,
it was decided to use fulllength
piles in lieu of splicing. With
A full-length project feature will be
published on the Plaquemines LNG
Driven Pi le Megaproject in the
September/October issue of Deep
Foundations.
Runner up
This year's runner up is The Heights, a
residential development in San Diego
submitted by PB&A. The soil nail wall
designed and built as part of this project
is the tallest permanent soil nail wall
ever built in the U.S. at 105 ft (32 m). In
addition, it was built in a narrow strip of
land sandwiched between a major road
and a massive 1:1 hillside that rises to a
San Diego Gas & Electric easement and
high-tension electrical tower above.
The project team analyzed each nail
group, reviewed the stress condition of
each row of nails and ensured that the
three failure criteria for nails, pullout
length, tensile strength and punching
shear were satisfied and were in
balance.
DEEP FOUNDATIONS * JULY/AUG 2024 * 25
July/August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2024
