PORT'S INTERMODAL TERMINAL
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Eustis Engineering L.L.C. is one of several local businesses that helped breathe new life into the recently dedicated Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal at the Port of New Orleans.
Eustis Engineering worked with the Port of New Orleans to bring several important cost-saving steps to the $25 million renovation project. Eustis Engineering obtained a permit to drill soil borings at an existing 12-acre railyard with container storage between the Louisiana Avenue Marshalling Yard and the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. We coordinated the field exploration with the Port’s tenants and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad during ongoing container and construction operations.
Project Overview. The old asphalt pavement and several railroad tracks were removed and replaced with a new heavy duty concrete pavement and new railroad tracks. Improvements also included new high mast lighting, GPS antenna monopoles, and a crane maintenance building. Eustis Engineering provided geotechnical recommendations to construct and support these structures.
Cost-Saving Measures. Eustis Engineering optimized the concrete pavement design using our database of existing plate load and CBR tests of the subgrade at the Port of New Orleans and correlating this data with the specific soil conditions at the site. This resulted in cost savings by keeping an underdrain system for drainage beneath the pavement that was required at the adjacent Louisiana Avenue Marshalling Yard. The cross-section of the railroad track roadbed was reduced using geogrid reinforcement to reduce the depth of excavation and to maintain the location of existing underground conduits and utilities.
Additional Services. Eustis Engineering also analyzed pile foundations for their response under lateral loading for single monopoles and for pile groups. As part of the permitting process to satisfy the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, we assisted the engineer of record and owner with providing recommendations for a temporary retaining system for utility excavations and jack and bore operations between the floodwall and railroad tracks.
