South Terminal retaining wall crucial to project success

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Engineer Susan Nilson tours the South Terminal on Thursday in New Bedford. Nilson and fellow engineer Jay Borkland conducted a crane study to help them choose the right design by putting sensors in the ground under different types of cranes holding different types of equipment.PETER PEREIRA/The Standard-Times

NEW BEDFORD When finished, the retaining wall at South Terminal is expected to support almost anything, including New Bedford's economic future.

The specially engineered retaining wall is what will ensure the port facility can hold the weight required to be a hub of offshore wind staging.

"This is really what makes this project unique," engineer Jay Borkland said Thursday.

Made up of interlocking steel ovals and circles called cofferdams, the retaining wall will allow the facility to have an average weight-bearing capacity of 4,000 pounds per square foot. In some places, the facility will hold 18,000 pounds per square foot.

"You are going to have all of this weight transferring not just vertically but horizontally," Borkland said. "We needed a retaining wall that would not blow out under the pressure."

That's partially because one of the major components of South Terminal construction is backfilling an area of the harbor just north of the Gifford Street boat ramp.

Once put to use, the manufactured land will have to hold hundreds of pieces of steel weighing up to 500 tons, as well as hulking cranes to carry the turbine components. The retaining wall ensures the facility doesn't collapse under the pressure and into the harbor.

Choosing the retaining wall's design was a process steeped in calculations. Borkland and fellow engineer Susan Nilson even conducted a "crane study" to help them, putting sensors in the ground under different types of cranes holding different types of equipment.

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South Terminal retaining wall crucial to project success