Project Overview

The Port of Tacoma Pier 4 Reconfiguration was part of a $250 million terminal upgrade designed to strengthen and realign a berth, and add eight new super-post-Panamax cranes, allowing the facility to serve two 18,000-TEU container ships simultaneously. Together with the adjacent Pier 3, the site now offers 3,000 feet of deep-draft berth length along the Blair Waterway.

Precast Solution

Built over two construction seasons, the 110-by-1,720-foot Pier 4 structure features 24-inch octagonal precast, prestressed concrete piles up to 171 feet long. Its deck uses 1,415 pieces of 27-inch-deep prestressed concrete panels resting on cast-in-place pile caps, while the crane rail is supported by 272 precast crane beams.

Owner: Port of Tacoma

PCI-Certified Precast Concrete Producer: Concrete Technology Corporation, Tacoma, Wash.

Engineer of Record: KPFF

General Contractor: Manson Construction Company

Key Project Attributes

• Low Maintenance: The precast concrete pile and deck system is used extensively in the Puget Sound region, due to its lower initial cost of construction and proven long-term durability.
• Self-Consolidating Concrete (SCC): Deck panels utilized SCC which improved concrete placement and product finishes.

Project/Precast Scope

• 24” Octagonal Concrete Piles – 1,251 pieces
• 27” Deep x 6’ Wide, Haunched and Prismatic Concrete Panels – 1,415 pieces
• 33” Deep Crane Beams – 272 pieces