To better support the use of trucks, forklifts, and cranes in their ship repair operations, BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair recognized the need to upgrade their North Wharf with rehabilitation by replacement. Partnering with Clark Nexsen’s marine engineering team, a new wharf design was developed and constructed with a cast-in-place concrete deck slab on prestressed concrete piles.

The new and improved North Wharf is 65 feet wide by 480 feet long with a steel sheet pile bulkhead provided along the inboard edge of the wharf as a cutoff wall. Double bitt moorings and continuous “D” shape rubber fenders were also provided along the face of the new wharf. Site grading and drainage were improved by design, and mechanical utilities and electrical conduits were designed to allow future growth.

Our team provided civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering for this new wharf, which is designed to support heavy vertical live loads (uniform, truck, forklift, and truck crane) anticipated by BAE Systems.