Project Announcement: Expansion of the Port of Houston's Bayport Terminal

August 29, 2025

The Port of Houston is handling historic cargo volumes, creating an immediate need to build a new wharf at Bayport Terminal, which is known as the most modern and environmentally sensitive container terminal on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The expansion, currently under design, includes a concrete wharf with a rail track to support three mobile gantry cranes.  A curved crane rail will enable sharing container cranes between Wharf 1 and future Wharf 8. This innovative design will give PHA the flexibility to buy fewer cranes for Wharf 8, saving millions of dollars.

Jacobs Engineering brought on HVJ to provide foundation design, stability analyses of channel slopes, and evaluate the foundation's settlement for the $250M project. Our expertise in field exploration, laboratory testing, and engineering analysis/reporting helped the project stay on schedule and overcome challenges. 

One particularly challenging element we encountered is the magnitude of differential settlement at the approach slab. Behind the new wall at Wharf 1 West, the area was previously open water. This space needed to be filled, which would lead to settlement. Our objective was to find a filling method to minimize differential settlement between the wharf deck and pavement. This was important to resolve because the slope of the approach slab could become too steep for the port's equipment.

Our team collaborated with Jacobs to develop a solution that included using a mix of clean rock, rip rap, and foam concrete. This unique mix reduced the surcharge weight and estimated the wait time for settlement before installing the final facilities. We also reviewed the existing drilled shaft load test information performed at the Bayport Container Terminal and provided an efficient drilled shaft design to minimize construction costs and expedite the construction process. The project is ongoing, as the Port recently decided to increase the length of Wharf 1, and we will continue to provide support as design plans are finalized.  We are proud to contribute to the growth of this vital port!

Bayport 2

 

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