Upgrade Of Berths 226-236, Container Wharf Terminal At The Port Of Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) is the largest container port in the nation, serving as a gateway to both the Southern California region and the national transportation system. Currently, POLA is upgrading several container wharves to better serve its customer base, including increasing the depth at Berths 226-232 (Everport) container terminal to accommodate larger ships. The existing wharf at Berths 226-232 was designed in multiple phases using design criteria from 1971,1977, and 1985. In addition, an operational upgrade was constructed using design criteria from 1995. Since then, the code has evolved to the current POLA Seismic Code 2010. An underwater bulkhead was designed for service/operational conditions and the operational level earthquake (OLE) event (earthquake having a 50 percent probability of exceedance in 50 years). This paper discusses the challenges faced in performing the operational upgrade with wharves designed with various code requirements.