FALL 2014

Installing Wall Panels on the Elliott Bay Seawall – Season Two

The Elliott Bay Seawall's Season 2 construction is moving along. We thought it might be helpful to provide some walk-through of how the actual wall panel installation is happening. The first set of prefab panels has been completed near the south end of Colman Dock (WA State Ferry Terminal).

Here’s the vicinity:

Here’s a still shot with some descriptive notes from the accompanying SDOT video of the first prefab wall panels being installed:

From a utility perspective, one challenging aspect is the coordination of detailed locations for 124 utility penetrations through the face of the wall. This includes defining the stationing and elevation, as well as the relationship to other utilities for weight distribution and order of installation. We also must avoid interference on the water side from utility hanger systems and on the landside for items like vaults, fittings, utility crossings, future light pole bases, etc. We review shop drawings for every face panel to make sure the utility accommodations are properly located and sized. Every blockout requires custom formwork, ranging from simple edge blockouts to large field blockouts requiring redesign of reinforcing steel. We pay attention to lifting points, adjusting bolts, corbels for attaching the face panels to the support slab and the pattern of the steel reinforcement. Although some of the physical utility accommodations are fairly easy to change later, these blockouts are literally cast in concrete. Every review has to be thorough. Mistakes are very difficult to fix.

Blockout notch at the top of the wall for a planned electrical bank serving the Water Taxi