A (geotechnical) tale of two land reclamations.

The proposed 210-hectare Craney Island Eastward Expansion (and its subsequent development as a container terminal) in Portsmouth, Virginia is the largest port- development land reclamation ever proposed along the eastern U.S. coast. The only larger port-development, land reclamation in the U.S. is the 230-hectare Pier 400 development (and container terminal) constructed in the 1990s-early 2000s in Los Angeles (LA) Harbor. Each of these projects is affected by the site location and geology; they are the best of sites - they are the worst of sites. Both projects include several tens of millions of cubic meters of dredging and landfill. Not surprisingly the planning, design, construction, and terminal development of these two land reclamations are affected by geotechnical conditions and terminal design/performance considerations. Copyright 2010 ASCE.