CentrePort Wharf Piles – Tonkin & Taylor (April/May 2008)
CentrePort owns and operates the port facilities in Wellington, New Zealand.
Project scope
Consulting Engineers Tonkin And Taylor Ltd callled in Griffiths Drilling to drill a series of 10
boreholes in the harbour to determine the geotechnical properties of the ground below the seabed
just off the Aotea Quay and Thorndon Container wharves. Standard Penetrometer Tests (SPT) were
conducted at 1m centers to provide the information required.
Complicating factors and solutions
The area from which the information was required, Aotea Quay Wharf and the Thorndon Container Wharf
are the main cargo handling areas in a busy port with berths seldom being vacant for more than a
few hours at time. Close liaision with CentrePort staff was needed to ensure that the drilling
could be fitted round the busy shipping schedule and the forecast weather conditions.
Barge access
The client required information from an area not accessible by land so a barge was required. The
rig was put on a barge with a cutout section in the ceter of one end. This enabled a working area
to be used on the side opposite to where the rig was positioned. The rig was driven on and off the
barge via a ramp and once aboard, the barge was moved by tug to each new position.
|