Port/Waterfront Services 

Transportation via waterway is a vital part of the nation’s economic infrastructure, and Volkert's roots are deeply entrenched in the marine industry.  In the firm’s early years (the 1920’s), waterfront construction and heavy foundation projects were a specialty.  Through the years, Volkert’s waterfront design experience has ranged from total port facilities for ocean-going ships to renovating existing docks to the design and program management for marinas, including wet slips, dry boat storage, and fishing piers.

Volkert's engineering, architectural, and planning expertise is evidenced in the design for a seaport in Miami, Florida, and also in an award-winning coal terminal in Mobile, Alabama.  The Miami project required enlargement of the islands on which the facilities were built, and both projects included the design of supporting rail and road systems. Volkert provides engineering consulting services to the port authorities and state docks, and these services have included improvements to the existing infrastructure and the design of new facilities.

Whether the project is a new seawall, a bulkhead for a harbor walk, repairs to a dock or wharf structure, or the design of a multi-million dollar barge loading/unloading facility, Volkert has the in-depth knowledge and expertise to provide innovative approaches to meet our clients’ needs.   When Volkert was called upon to help preserve one of the top tourist attractions in the state of Alabama, we responded with the design of a cathodic protection system to prevent corrosion of the Battleship USS Alabama and successfully moved the submarine USS Drum from its existing water berth to an aboveground display.   Volkert has been called upon to provide design and construction management services to rebuild the pavilions, boardwalk, and bulkhead on a public beachfront hit hard by hurricanes.  Volkert’s design included the use of an aluminum sheet pile bulkhead wall to provide wind and wave protection for the beach and pavilions.  We have provided construction observation services for a project that involved pumping sand from about a mile off shore onto the Gulf Shores beaches so that  the end product will be approximately 75 feet of new beach.

Today, as in the past, the design and rehabilitation of marine structures is a special area of expertise for Volkert.

Port/Waterfront Services include:

• Civilian and military port facilities
• Feasibility studies
• Intermodal facilities planning and design
• Bulkhead/seawall investigation
• Rehabilitation of wharves/piers
• Design of warehouse facilities
• Dredged material spoil site design
• Design of bulk material handling systems, facilities, heavy equipment specifications
• Site development and design
• Demolition of existing structures
• Riverwalk, cruise ship facilities
• Program management
• Above water and underwater structural investigation
• Environmental investigations and permitting
• Utilities
• Survey (including submerged property)