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Pier Project

The New Pier Nears Completion

As of the first of February 2012, the DEI pier is nearly complete.  Several items remain to be accomplished, including adding lights, a seawater pump, and floating docks.  All construction was completed in late December 2011, and that construction history from mid-May 2011 to early January 2012 is recorded in the photos below.

Brief History

In 2009, DEI received a grant from the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) through the Maine Technology Asset Fund.  A portion of those funds was used to replace a wooden pier that existed until 2006 with a 30-ft x 100-ft pier comprised primarily of fiber composite materials.   

Kleinschmidt Associates (Pittsfield, Maine) performed the engineering, Harbor Technologies LLC (Brunswick, Maine) produced the fiber composite materials (pilings, pile caps, deck units, and floats), and DeLong Marine (Brewer, Maine) constructed the pier. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for the summer of 2012, when DEI holds its annual Shellfish Field Day.

The photo below shows the nine composite pilings that were installed by DeLong Marine in May 2011.  Each piling is hollow and approximately 1/2-inch thick.  All nine pilings were driven to refusal (ledge).  The photo was taken on an extreme low tide. 

 

Photo of pilings taken on 5-19-2011 at Black Duck Cove

 

Mike DeLong's barge installing fiber composite pilings on May 19, 2011

 

Pouring concrete for the pier abutment on May 26, 2011

 

Earthwork to prepare for the composite pile caps (June 3, 2011)

 

Composite pilings cut off evenly in preparation for pile caps (Aug. 17, 2011)

Composite pile caps (September 8, 2011)

 

First two of three composite pile caps placed over the pilings (September 22, 2011)

 

The third pile cap is in place, and cement is being poured in the nine pilings and in the three pile caps from a shoreside concrete boom truck (September 28, 2011)

 

Mobile Concrete Pumping, Hermon ME - Patrick Thibodeau             (September 28, 2011)

 

The first two (of twelve) composite deck units (October 6, 2011)

 

All composite deck units installed (October 17, 2011)

 

Angled reinforcement (rebar) rods installed to increase strength of deck units (October 6, 2011)

 

Deck units filled with cement (October 19, 2011)

 

A double matrix of rebar rod is laid down over the deck units                  (November 7, 2011)

 

Concrete being poured through the rebar rods onto the deck units (ca. 10-inches thick) (November 8, 2011)

 

Finishing the pour near the shoreside end of the pier (November 8, 2011)

 

Wooden handrails and most composite fender piles are installed (December 14, 2011)

 

The two 12-ft x 24-ft composite floating docks arrive from Harbor Techologies (Brunswick, ME) (December 14, 2011)

 

A 60-ft aluminum gangway will enable us to reach the two floating docks when they are deployed in Spring 2012 (January 6, 2012)

 

The Downeast Institute's pier, ca. 98% finished (January 6, 2012)