Roller Coasters and Driven Piles July 12, 2011

Throughout the years there have been some unique projects that have used driven piles in their construction.   Most everyone is familiar with the use of driven piles for downtown skyscrapers and coliseums but few realize that without the technology of pile driving, there would be no  waterfront roller coasters today.   Waterfront roller coasters are supported with marine piers. In fact around the turn of the centruy, the first municipal fishing piers appeared and were a crowd drawing attraction.  In this case the fishing piers can first and then the amusement parks with their waterfront roller coasters.  Obviously the installation of the fishing pier required driven piles to support the platform.

The fishing piers were highly popular attractions that stretched out into the sea hundreds of feet; the Santa Monica Pier was 700 feet long during its grand opening in 1909.  The pier was the effort of Charles Lloof; who brought his unique pile driving process to the construction that was a slight evolution to the conventional manners that were used to install piers during that time period.

Looff observed that the method used at the time to drive piles into the seabed required a significant amount of force to proceed through the dense sand.  Looff modified his electric driven pile driver and incorporated a water jet function that "washed out" the sand beneath where the pile was to be driven.  As a result, less force was needed to drive the pile into the shoreline and secure them in the ocean floor.  The long term result was the speed in which the piles could be driven.  The 247 foot wide pier was constructed with rows of piles consisting of thirty piles per row, and the water line (720 feet from the Promenade) was reached in a mere eight days.

With this feat accomplished, workers began constructing the "racing roller coaster" ride that Looff had purchased to locate on the pier so that riders would be able to look out over the ocean's edge as they crested the pinnacle of the ride.  By 1918 the "Looff Pier" was an astonishing site for its time.  The roller coaster stretched nearly the length of the pier and was situated on the pier so that it was at the extreme end of the ocean edge (farthest point from the shoreline) and was also on the outermost edge of the pier on its southside; resulting in long stretches of the ride providing a breathtaking view of the water hundreds of feet out to sea.

The magnificence of today's roller coasters and the thrill that draws riders to them are due in part to visionaries like Charles Looff who understood how to incorporate social attractions with insightful construction practices (such as his modified pile driver) to provide enjoyment for one and all.

Savvy commercial foundation contractors can provide insight and practical solutions resulting from their ability to draw on years of experience in a wide variety of similar situations.  Foundation Contractors was founded in 1971 in Northern California and provides unparalleled expertise on complex foundation projects.

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