Processing Plant on Waterfront
Development of Multimodal Asphalt + Concrete Processing Plant
Stavola Companies redeveloped a former chemical plant located along the Passaic River waterfront, 330 Doremus Avenue in the City of Newark, New Jersey, into a multimodal asphalt and concrete processing plant. The new facility has the capability of obtaining raw materials by either rail or barge and service the NYC construction industry.
The project included configuring the site to accommodate a concrete plant, an asphalt plant, and concrete recycling plant. Additionally, a new spud barge was constructed in the Passaic River to accommodate deliveries of raw materials from barges floated to the processing plant along the river. McLaren Engineering Group performed surveying, site/civil engineering, marine engineering, structural engineering, and geotechnical engineering and construction inspection for this industrial redevelopment project.
Surveying: A boundary and topographical survey of the site was performed. Additionally, underwater surveys were performed to identify location and elevation of key structural and underwater elements.
Civil Engineering: McLaren provided all site / civil engineering for this project from conceptual design through Construction Documents. This work included site layout, grading, stormwater management, and utility connections. Our Civil Engineering team obtained all municipal approvals and also worked closely with our Marine Engineering team to obtain all NJDEP regulatory approvals and permits.
Marine Engineering: An underwater and above water inspection of the structural waterfront elements were conducted to identify the existing structure type and evaluate their condition for repair or replacement. Our marine engineers designed new bulkheads, sheet piles for shoreline stabilization and connections for the prefabricated floating barge, and gangways. We also secured the required all the necessary NJDEP and US Army Corp of Engineers permits required for the proposed improvements.
Structural Engineering: McLaren provided structural engineering services for the design of retaining walls and foundation systems for the Asphalt Plant, Asphalt Oil Tank and office buildings.
Geotechnical Engineering: Our geotechnical team performed soil testing analysis of the existing on site soils to determine their characteristics and bearing capacity. The geotechnical team also evaluated the loads on the asphalt plant to determine the recommended foundation system.
The McLaren Difference
Significant challenges such as environmental restrictions, floodplain issues, site availability, and a tight schedule required a highly coordinated team design approach which included several of McLaren’s engineering disciplines, the Stavola team, construction manager, expediter, and attorney. Weekly design meetings throughout the project allowed the team to respond quickly to issues and to keep the project on schedule.
The McLaren design team worked closely with the client in the conceptual stages of the project to understand the processing plant’s needs. We optimized the facility layout and vehicle circulation, and worked closely with utility companies and the city to determine the most cost-effective solutions for providing the utility services to the production and recycling site.
The Waterfront
There were several design challenges which the McLaren team faced in developing this industrial site. Since the property sits along the Passaic River, the site was located within a flood zone. In order to satisfy NJDEP regulatory flood protection requirements, significant portions of the site needed to be raised above the flood elevation. In come cases the grade needed to be raised in excess of 6 feet.
Stavola wanted the ability to receive the raw materials for its asphalt and concrete production operations by barge. To facilitate this, the Marine team designed two spud barges to be permanently moored at the site along the Passaic River. Barges carrying raw materials can dock alongside the spud barges and the raw materials can than be transmitted to land using a loader and conveyor hopper system. Since the loader was intended to work from the spud barges McLaren engineered steel bridge gangways for each of the spud barges. Each gangway was designed as a removeable structure. The versatility of the structure helps protect the asset from damage when the threat of extreme weather occurs. Additionally, McLaren engineered the gangway so one side is fixed and the other can freely rotate with the tide.
Because heavy machinery would be needed at the water’s edge, McLaren engineered two bulkheads at the gangway approaches that act as a platform and can handle the significant equipment loads. The anchor piles for the barge were designed with precision to allow for the unique operations.
The project incorporated several extra design considerations for resiliency and functionality including calculating the path and inclination that equipment use to climb the gangway.