East Side Coastal Resiliency Project (EXPANDED) 

Editor: Debbie Reaney 

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest, most destructive, and strongest hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season. It completely devastated the Northeast region, particularly New York City, its suburbs, and Long Island. Sandy's impacts included the flooding of the New York City Subway system, many suburban communities, and all the road tunnels entering Manhattan with the exception of the Lincoln Tunnel. Forty-four individuals lost their lives and $19 Million in residential damages were just two of the dreadful aftermaths of the storm. In the wake of this tragedy, New York City officials quickly got to work creating a plan to safeguard the coast from future flooding. As sea levels continue to rise due to coastal storms and other threats posed by climate change, New York is doing its part to protect the parks, neighborhoods, and vegetation across Manhattan's East Side against future storm damage and flooding. The East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) Project aims to offer protection to significant infrastructure including a major pump station and an electrical substation, which powers much of Lower Manhattan, as well as numerous local schools and libraries. These updates, along with a 2.4-mile flood plan including floodgates and floodwalls, will be built right into the fabric of the community, and is expected to keep 110,000 lives safe. Beginning in late Fall 2020, the $1.45-billion project involves elevating the East River Park, installing flood walls, and reconstructing the waterfront bulkhead to enhance flood resiliency. Significant upgrades will also be given to the various public open spaces and five parks, including improved waterfront access through reconstructed bridges and entry points; while also upgrading existing sewer systems to capture and manage precipitation during storms. With its dense urban environment and complex below and above-ground infrastructure, the ESCR project is among the largest and most technically complex developments in New York City's history. Due to the shear scope of this plan, construction in the Manhattan area is expected to continue through 2026 and when completed, will protect the tens of thousands of New Yorkers who live in this high impact area. 

For part of the first phase of this massive undertaking, portions of the foundation work for the ESCR were completed by Posillico Inc and Atlantic Pile in a joint venture. While working under the FDR Bridge, on the east side of Manhattan, Posillico Civil Atlantic Pile Joint Venture encountered a few unique job challenges, including making sure that this major throughfare into the city continued to flow uninterrupted. Understanding how to select the proper equipment can make or break a project; with this in mind the industry experts at Posillico Civil Atlantic Pile JV turned to the experts at ICE® (International Construction Equipment, Inc.) to provide the proper drill and tooling equipment to accomplish the work quickly and safely. After speaking with their ICE® Sales & Service Team, the decision was made to purchase and utilize a Comacchio MC8D drill rig in tandem with a Tecniwell TW700 Jet Grout and Tecniwell TWM40 Grout Mixing Plant. This combination gave the Posillico/Atlantic JV crew the ability to fill in foundation holes with the rig as they were created, saving both time and money. Afterwards sheet piles were driven, and the high-powered jet grout pump was once again used to plug any gaps surrounding the piles. This method allows for a strong driven pile foundation which is further strengthened by the grout. The Comacchio MC8D, a versatile and powerful hydraulic drilling rig, designed for civil engineering works such as micropiles, anchors and ground improvement in general was used throughout the job for many different applications, as the scope of the project was so vast.  

Gateway Demo/Civil Corp. out of Hicksville, NY was another one of many contractors selected to work on this early phase of the project. Their portion of this venture required them to drive H-Beams for the park's reconstructed and reconfigured outfall system that will reroute more of the storm drainage on the western, residential side of the park. Outfalls are pipelines or tunnels that discharge municipal or industrial wastewater, storm water, combined sewer overflows, cooling water, or brine effluents to a receiving water body. Strengthening the storm sewer outfall helps mitigate rain and tide waters from backflowing through the stormwater sewer system and flooding the neighborhood during storm surges. When it came time to select proper equipment to drive the H-piles for this important portion of the project, ICE® supplied Gateway with the ICE® 22 Vibratory Pile Driver to drive the piles ten feet underground. Additionally, an ICE® I-12 Diesel Hammer was utilized in driving the piles further allowing for a drainage pipe to be laid on top. The drainage pipe will then direct storm runoff into the river and lessen the chances of overflow in the area.