Three of four new sections built at the Port of Anchorage
were not constructed correctly, and due to shifting land, could fail during an
earthquake, a federally commissioned study has found.
The danger comes mainly from a foundation system called Open
Cell Sheet Pile, or OCSP, where instead of building a traditional dock on
piling, interlocking sheets of steel are hammered into the sea floor to form
U-shaped cells, which are then backfilled with dirt and gravel.
“The suitability study determined that the OCSP system is
not adequately designed to meet global stability and seismic displacements
based on the design criteria,” the report states. “The study also concludes
that the open cell system is adequately designed to meet initial internal
stability structural design requirements, assuming it was constructed without
defects. However, at the end of 50 years, it will be slightly over‐stressed
due to corrosion and will not meet safety standards.”
The $2.2 million sustainability study
was conducted by engineering firm CH2M Hill on behalf of the US Maritime
Administration and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps requested the
study be conducted after it assumed control of the Port of Anchorage expansion
project from MARAD on May 31.
The expansion, which has been in the works for more than a
decade, was originally estimated to cost $360 million, and was supposed to be
complete by 2011. Instead, cost estimates have jumped to more than $1 billion
and continue to climb. A completion date is at least a decade away, according
to port estimates.
