May/June 2021 - 100

Example of evaluating an in-water project element to determine mitigation credits
A wharf replacement program is
being mitigated. Vegetated impacts are
mitigated at a 1 to 1.5 ratio, which is
typical for both USACE and DEC permits.
Port Authority of NY and NJ
Jorge Chavez, assistant director of
capital and import planning for the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey
(Port Authority), provided an overview
of its facilities and capital plan. The port
includes 6 marine terminals, 300 acres
(121 ha) of waterfront property and
extensive port-wide intermodal rail
facilities. It is the largest port on the
East Coast based on container volume
handled, with 7.5 million TEUs (20 ft
equivalent containers) handled in 2020.
The Port Authority has made
significant investments for 20 years to
serve the Northeast, a leading global
consumer market. In coordination with
USACE and federal partners, i t
undertook a 30-year program (completed
in 2016) to deepen channels to
50 ft (15.2 m) to be " big ship ready, "
allowing larger ships with deeper drafts
through the channels. It also completed
the Bayonne Bridge Navigational
Clearance project to raise the bridge and
for larger ship access, and invested in 4
intermodal rail facilities for improved
transfer of goods from the ports.
Port Master Plan - The Port
Authority completed this plan in 2019
to define steps to continue as the largest
East Coast port. Demands on port
capacity are expected to increase to as
much as 17 million TEUs in 30 years,
requiring upgrading facilities. The Port
Authority has $365 million of capital
funding for upgrade projects. This will
include replacing aging infrastructure
on the north side of the port network,
where over 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of
roadway will be replaced. This New
Jersey Marine Terminal facilities
project will be advertised in the
third quarter of 2021, and will
replace the ramp, upgrade
substandard drainage conditions
and improve geometric
roadway features
and curvatures.
Additional harbor
deepening will also be
done as recommended
in a new study that was
undertaken with the USACE. This study
was driven by overlapping parameters
with the 50 ft (15.2 m) deepening
program, including the evolution of
ship sizes. The Port Master Plan
mandates that it evolve to receive larger
vessels of up to 18,000 TEU.
also planned. The port has 1 mi
(1,609 m) of wharf system in its
facilities. Many of the port's wharves
(the structures that connect the shore
to the point where a ship berths) were
constructed in the 1970s, and are past
their designed service life. The New
York and New Jersey facility's wharf
system is supported on roughly 45,000
(typically timber) piles of 65 to 70 ft
(19.8 to 21.3 m) long, embedded in rock.
The wharf system will be redesigned to
account for sea level rise and flooding
over the next 100 years. Raising the
grades around the wharves may be
required to retain port connections to
adjacent service facilities and roadways.
Size evolution of container vessels since 1950s
Proceedings of the DFI-COPRI 2021
New York City Ports and Marine
Engineering Seminar are available,
including recordings of all presentations
in the two-day event. Contact
staff@dfi.org for access details.
Mary Ellen Bruce Large, P.E., D.GE, is the director
of technical activities for DFI. She has over 30
years of experience in the geotechnical and
foundation industry and is responsible for
facilitating technical aspects of DFI committee
work, research, publications, conferences and
seminars, and strategic planning.
Major features of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's port plan
100 * DEEP FOUNDATIONS * MAY/JUNE 2021
May/June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2021
