Title: The Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement Project

Location: Long Beach, CA

Owner: Port of Long Beach

Engineer: SFI

Project Revenue:  $196,450.00

Project Timeline: 2019

Challenge:

The new $1.5B Gerald Desmond Bridge at the bustling Port of Long Beach is the first cable-stayed vehicular structure built in California and must conform to rigorous seismic standards. The challenge was to create sufficient drawdown without lowering the water table below the limits of nearby monitoring wells, while considering that the total discharge flow was limited by the client’s treatment facilities.

The Solution:

The 400 ft. 48-inch storm drain system under the bridge needed to be modified for the new construction. Griffin designed and installed 25 deep dewatering wells to 35 ft. This design allowed excavation to proceed by operating only as many wells as needed to dewater small sections of the excavation.  The wells averaged around 15 GPM however, individual well capacities varied considerably due to varying soils.

The Griffin Difference:

Unusually heavy and persistent rains, unanticipated changes in soil conditions, design changes and previously unknown underground obstructions required the Griffin team to continuously monitor and make system adjustments to adapt to the changing conditions to keep the job moving forward.