NOTS Pier - San Clemente Island

Owner: NAVFAC Southwest Coronado FEAD, Naval Air Station North Island

Location: San Clemente Island, CA

Designer: Balboa Engineering, Inc.

Contractor: Orion Construction Corporation

Delivery Model: Design-Build

Contract Value: $2 million

Schedule: 2024

Scope:

Upgrades safety and access at two San Clemente Island piers for the delivery of critical materials, equipment, and personnel for training. It included removing and replacing damaged pier whalers and ladders for barge offloading along the primary material and delivery pier on San Clemente Island. Install a new stainless steel diving platform where the previous platform failed due to deteriorated structural members at NOTs Pier.

Challenges: Due to work being completed along the exterior of existing piers, installation required divers throughout to complete in-water welding under all tidal conditions. Installation of the new diving platform required timing with the tides for all bolt-up and concrete placement, requiring work hours to be shifted and planned around tides and non-winter seasons, when storms affect the island's coastal regions. The entire project was constructed over water, requiring divers, cranes, and specialty products to cure in tidal zones. Working over water made safety a paramount concern with heightened awareness of the additional hazards.

Results: This project was a critical safety infrastructure repair along the main pier infrastructure of the island. It provides safe personnel access in/out of the water to perform mission-critical maneuvers, and access for large boats delivering key materials and supplies to both enlisted and civilian personnel operating on the island.