Enviva Port of Wilmington Terminal
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Enviva Port of Wilmington Terminal
Located adjacent to an existing rail line along the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina, Enviva's Port of Wilmington terminal required a below-grade structure for its trucks and rail cars that transport wood pellets (woody biomass fuel) to unload onto a series of conveyors that carry the pellets to onsite storage domes and eventually to container ships.
T.A. Loving Company brought in Morrison Engineers to design an excavation shoring solution to facilitate the installation of the below-grade, cast-in-place concrete structure. The structure required a shoring system that would allow the excavation to extend approximately 22 feet below existing grade, just 12.5 feet away from the center line of existing railroad tracks. Due to the size (approximately 9,500 sq. ft) and unique shape of the required excavation, our team designed the shoring to include three types of sheetpile shoring: cantilevered sheetpile, internally braced sheetpile using steel walers, and sheetpile braced by tieback anchors. Morrison Engineers was also contracted to install and tension the tieback anchors, which were 7 inches in diameter and ranged from 45 to 55 feet in length.
Due to the site’s close proximity to the Cape Fear River, groundwater was a significant consideration in the shoring system selection, design, and method of installation. The shoring system was successfully installed, providing a safe, dry, and predominantly unobstructed work area for T.A. Loving Company to complete the construction of the structure in an efficient and cost-effective manner.
Location: Wilmington, NC
Size: 9,500 sq ft
Owner: Enviva
Client: T.A. Loving Company
Systems / Methods Used:
Excavation Shoring
Cantilevered sheetpile
Internally braced sheetpile with steel walers
Sheetpile braced by tieback anchors