Hi everyone!
This is my weekly update for August 29 to September 2.
· Major Milestone – Phase I is nearly complete!!
· Please see the attached figure. For the first time, you’ll see blue which denotes that dredging is complete in that area. Also, most of the Phase I docks are now shaded green which means folks can move back in their slips.
· This week’s main focus was driving the 16” piles along Lafayette. It was a challenging week because not all of the piles cooperated as planned. Of course, this is to be expected as the soil conditions and underwater obstructions are unknown until you actually start driving piles. Once the pile hits a point of refusal, it will start to “wander” with each successive blow, causing bigger problems. Therefore, some piles were left taller than the desired +12’ MLLW elevation.
· The taller piles will be cutoff next week. We may need to juggle some boats around for the few hours that this takes place, but it shouldn’t be a problem and we’ll be in close contact with everyone affected.
· The average length of the existing piles that we’re pulling out is about 30’, while the length of the piles that we’re installing is 56’…big difference.
· There is still some minor dock work that has yet to be done, but that can occur while boats are in their slips.
· The pile driving barge is now stationed to the east of the “H” mooring field in an approved location (between Lido Isle and the Peninsula). We felt this location would localize the construction activity, as well as minimizing the impact to the harbor as a whole now that the busy summer sailing season is behind us. The pile driving barge will return to the Rhine Wharf in about 2 weeks to load more pile, then resume its pile driving operations.
· Dredging activities were still ongoing this week, and Dutra is making great progress with the center channel of Phases II & III. Remember, every bit completed now means less time and impact at the end of the project.
· Next Week: Phase II dredging will begin in the smaller channel on Tuesday morning. We’re hoping that it won’t take long for Dutra to round the corner and proceed into the larger channel. When this happens, the boats in the small channel should be able to enter/exit the Rhine area with nominal inconvenience.
· Important: If you do need to get by the dredging operations in your boat, please radio Dutra on channel 82 and ask for permission to pass. Safety is our number one concern, so please be respectful of the giant machinery and ‘slow to react’ tugs and barges. Dutra and Anchor QEA are doing a great job of keeping in contact with the public and individually working with folks – well done to everyone involved on the team!
· There will be no construction related activities from this afternoon until Tuesday morning. The entire Rhine Channel will be open to all vessel traffic.
· Interesting fact No. 5: The crane capacity on the pile driving barge is 240 tons.
Have a great Labor Day weekend! Thanks to everyone’s cooperation, Phase I was a huge success!
Chris Miller
Harbor Resources Manager
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