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5 Impressive Things Built (or Fixed) Using Cofferdams

By DH Glabe & Associates / July 20, 2017

Everyone knows about dams. But have you heard about a cofferdam?

Cofferdams have been around for a long time. People have used these when excavating very large plots of land or building foundations of water-based structures such as bridges or piers. The cofferdam keeps water from flowing into these sites, ensuring a dry foundation.

The cofferdam has been used to build and fix some impressive things. Check out the five most inspiring objects constructed by using these fascinating dams.

5 Impressive Things Built (or Fixed) Using Cofferdams

Cofferdams have helped civilizations divert water, gain new territory, build dry structures safely, and even recover history. They can be as simple as a pile of sandbags set up to use as a barrier during wartime or complex as a double sheet piling used in modern-day bridge construction.

While today the cofferdam is particularly useful for earth shoring engineering projects, it continues to be used in the engineering world as a helpful tool in water diversion projects.

1. Battleship U.S.S. North Carolina

Because ships are a water-borne craft, their preservation often depends upon a dry work environment. When it comes to this battleship located in Wilmington, North Carolina, the use of a cofferdam will integrate a memorial walkway for visitors and water-free access to the battleship for preservation and repair work.

The project, nearly six months away from completion, is unique because it won't rely on the cofferdam for underwater construction. This battleship will be open to visitors and kept looking sharp above water.

While this battleship will cost a hefty $8 million, it will, in fact, be a permanent installment. This is another great aspect of the cofferdam: it can be both temporary or fixed. The permanent cofferdam enables future maintenance and repair work on structures like the U.S.S. North Carolina.

2. The Hoover Dam

It may seem counterintuitive to say that dams are made by using dams. But with this impressive dam that's become an icon of the American road map, cofferdams were a huge part of the construction.

The Hoover Dam construction was an architectural and engineering feat in Nevada in 1933. Before the dams were installed, workers removed 250,000 cubic yards of silt from the river in order to ensure a solid starting foundation.

Two cofferdams were required to make sure the construction was dry and water-free. Both were made from earth and rockfill, and relied on an additional rock barrier to prevent any additional water seepage. While some people were worried that the spring Nevada floods may damage all of this foundation pre-work, the damming worked and construction went along as planned.

3. Ancient Roman Bridges

When we said that the cofferdam has been around for a really long time, we meant it. For thousands of years, civilizations have found the cofferdam useful, and you see this in many of the bridges of Ancient Rome.

Early populations relied on more basic forms of the cofferdam in order to control waters for drinking supply, irrigation, and land control. Often this entailed the diversion of a river. Legend has it that King Cyrus of Persia used the cofferdam in order to divert the Euphrates River in his pursuit of the city of Babylon. This meant that an entirely new empire was established based off of the use of this dam alone!

Similarly, the Romans made use of this handy type of damming when bridging the Danube River. Trajan's Bridge, built as a result of cofferdam wood pilings, enabled the Romans to travel to contemporary Romania. This bridge totaled nearly 4500 feet in length.

4. The Tapan Zee Bridge, New York City

The Tapan Zee provides a great example of how cofferdams still help with important construction feats today. This incredible bridge spanning the Hudson River cost nearly $4 billion to construct. Its completion would not have been possible without the use of the cofferdam.

A complex software was used to design the steel dams, 90 feet by 45 feet, used in construction. The software also took soil type into consideration. Because the Hudson contains a lot of river silt and soft deposits, the Tapan Zee dams had to be backfilled in order to create a solid base for the bridge piers.

5. The La Belle ship

The La Belle shipwreck has long been an icon of the Texas coast, and the cofferdam made sure that La Belle remained a fixture of seventeenth-century history.

In 1687, this ship crashed along the shoreline as a result of poor weather and difficult seas. Manned by a New World explorer, this ship was the last of four ships sent to explore the unknown coasts. When La Belle crashed and sank, it became sealed in mud for over three hundred years.

In 1995, an archeological team discovered the site of La Belle's sinking. Such a recovery requires a lot of complicated engineering. The Texas Historical Commission constructed a cofferdam system around the sunken ship. This elaborate system cost over $2 million.

The mission was successful, and in 1997 the full extent of the treasure was known. Hundreds of incredibly preserved artifacts and much of the ship's original structure were recovered. If it weren't for the cofferdam, we would never know this history.

Cofferdams of the Future

There's no doubt about it: the cofferdam is versatile, useful, and amazing. It has enabled people to bring history back to the surface, cross rivers, and construct impressive architecture. The cofferdam will continue to be an essential part of contemporary engineering projects.

At DH Glabe & Associates, cofferdams are our bread and butter when it comes to earth shoring engineering. To date, we've completed over five thousand company projects in thirty-two years, relying on the expertise of over fifty professional licenses. We assist with both civil and commercial projects using a variety of technology, including H-piles, mechanically stabilized earth walls, sheet piles, geofabric, and secant pile walls.

Earth shoring is not all we do. No matter the size or type of your engineering project, at DH Glabe & Associates we pledge to be with you every step of the way. Contact any of our construction engineering experts today to learn about what we can do turn your project into a reality this year.

Tags: Blog Shoring Cofferdams

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