Portfields: An Engineer's Perspective

On April 20, 2005, when Acting Gov. Richard Codey announced the New Jersey Portfields Initiative, a joint effort undertaken by the New Jersey EDA and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, I was impressed. I thought, "here is a program that will give the state economy a boost and keep me, a civil engineer specializing in warehouse/distribution center design, even busier than I already am." But what I liked most about the Portfields Initiative is the fact that it has the key element that makes for great policy—common sense.

Few can argue against the reason for its design: "To transform underutilized sites within the Port District—roughly within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty—into productive uses to drive expansion and modernization of port-related warehousing and distribution functions and the creation of related jobs." Efforts to enhance port infrastructure predate the Portfields Initiative. The last issue of PortViews (May 2005) reported that, "Since 2001, more than 500 acres of container terminals have been upgraded with new utilities, new paving and other improvements."

To date 17 sites in communities like Kearny, Newark, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Linden, Carteret, Wood-bridge and Perth Amboy have been identified for inclusion in the program and other sites are being considered. These sites are ideal for redevelopment, primarily because of their proximity to the port, major highways, essential utilities and, of course, the country's largest and most affluent consumer population.

In order for New Jersey to move forward with the initiative, it is important to identify and explain several technical challenges related specifically to development of these sites. Compared to the port centers of yesteryear, today's distribution centers are sophisticated structures that handle incredibly large volumes of cargo. To accommodate these volumes of container cargo and the automated racking systems that process it, modern warehouses must have very stable subsurface conditions to support the foundations and floor slabs.Further, material handling systems require extremely flat floors. This presents a considerable challenge because soils under these sites are compressible from being deposited by water over time. Usually, the most economical solution is a ground improvement program consisting of dynamic compaction and surcharge. Dynamic compaction involves dropping a 20-ton weight from a crane repeatedly to increase the density of the soils. Surcharge is essentially preloading the site with soil to compact the compressible soil layers. Pile foundations are typically more expensive, but can be executed in a shorter time period than ground improvement.

There are other issues, like environmental contamination and stormwater management. But in order to make the New Jersey Portfields list in the first place, pre-existing contamination has to be manageable. Stormwater management presents another design challenge: Developers are paying top dollar for land and cannot afford large portions of their sites to be set aside for detention basins to collect stormwater. They prefer underground detention and mechanical treatment devices, which economize space.The New Jersey DEP favors using the more natural methods of stormwater management outlined in its low-impact development criteria, which conversely require more space on a portfields site. It's the job of the site engineer to strike a balance between the objectives of these two parties.

Sound engineering design can help transform an underutilized site into a port hub, but the success of the New Jersey Portfields Initiative depends on effective communication among the public entities behind the program and an open dialogue between developers and these entities. Since inception, the Port Authority and the New Jersey EDA have had the vision and resources to stimulate development in the port region and many people are moving these sites along.

We all must remain focused on the Portfields Initiative if we are to keep our port area competitive with other ports. It's been well over 18 months since the much-applauded program was announced and with continued efforts, diligent communications and the right expertise, we will soon have some finished projects to really cheer about.

The views expressed here are those of the author and not of Real Estate Media or its publications.