Clients
City of Marinette
Marinette Marine Corporation
Services provided
Civil engineering
Construction monitoring
Environmental oversight and testing Geotechnical evaluation and design Non-destructive testing
Subsurface exploration
Project overview
Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) was constructing 16 225-foot-long buoy ferries for the New York Staten Island Ferry Line. MMC’s launch facility required upgrading to handle these larger, heavier and longer ships. The corporation launches ships sideways, which puts tremendous stress on the launch system and supporting dockwall, and also requires the adjacent river to be deep enough to accept the huge displacement of water without the ship “bottoming out.” The City of Marinette, Wis., secured a $4 million grant from the State of Wisconsin to construct improvements to the MMC facilities.
Approach
STS teamed with another consulting firm and led the efforts for dredging soil and rock from the river bottom, along with supplying critical engineering support for the dockwall and launchway design. STS defined the project requirements regarding the level of design, soil and environmental characterization, and geotechnical issues. By facilitating discussions and negotiations with regulatory agencies to manage their review and approval process, STS was able to ensure work followed regulations. STS was honored as a “Plankholder,” a very high honor in Navy tradition. The firm received a piece of steel cut from the hull of the ship, inscribed to commemorate their valued assistance with the success of their operations.
Client benefits
STS’ knowledge of the Menominee River area and the business community put the firm in a unique position of negotiating fair terms for disposal of sediments. This alone saved the project over $1 million in disposal costs. Without this savings, the entire dredging and dockwall improvement project would have been jeopardized. When unanticipated contamination was encountered, fast action by STS resulted in minimal delays by the contractor and minimal additional cost. |
