Port of Tampa Bay
One of the Largest Paver Installations in the Nation Withstands 30 Years of Heavy Use at Port of Tampa Bay Cargo Yard
Every Project Starts with a Purpose
The Port of Tampa Bay is one of the most active and economically significant ports in the United States, ranking among the top ports nationally in domestic, foreign and total trade. With an economic impact exceeding $15.1 billion and support for more than 80,000 jobs, it is the largest and most diversified seaport in West Central Florida.
In 1992, the Tampa Port Authority planned construction of a new 900-foot-long wharf to serve as an upland cargo staging area. For this project, known as Berth 208, engineers challenged conventional thinking around pavement systems and explored interlocking concrete pavers as a structural solution. The selected system, consisting of 80mm thick concrete pavers, has since withstood nearly 30 years of extreme loading typical of port operations.
“The paver system at 208 Uplands Cargo Yard has held up fantastically for about 30 years, with little to no maintenance,” said Patrick Blair, P.E., S.I., Vice President of Engineering for the Port of Tampa Bay. “This area has been used for storage of wood pallets, structural steel, empty containers, as well as constant heavy forklift traffic.”
At the time the project was being planned, interlocking concrete pavers were generally viewed as a decorative option rather than a structural pavement solution. Historically, the Port Authority had constructed cargo staging areas using six inches of asphaltic concrete placed over 18 inches of compacted limerock base. However, the long-term performance of these asphalt pavements had not proven fully satisfactory.
For the Berth 208 project, the Port Authority determined that upgraded pavement systems needed to be evaluated for long-term viability. Any solution would be required to support the heavy loads common in port environments, including the TEC-950L container handler, which applies a front axle load of 106,000 pounds during regular operation.
The Solution
Solving for Style, Function, and Durability
Several pavement systems were evaluated for the project, including asphalt with a lime rock base, unreinforced concrete and base, reinforced concrete and subbase, and interlocking concrete pavers with a base.
In their paper “Selection of a Pavement System for Heavily Loaded Marine Terminal,” presented at the Ports ’95 American Society of Civil Engineers Conference, Ross T. McGillivray, president of ARMAC Engineers, Inc., and Carl E. Fielland, director of engineering for the Tampa Port Authority, detailed the research and selection process. Based on a 40-year life-cycle analysis, the interlocking concrete pavement system proved to be lower in cost than unreinforced and reinforced concrete throughout its life, and more cost-effective than asphalt after six years. After visiting a nearly one-million-square-foot paver installation at the Port of New Orleans, engineers specified interlocking concrete pavers manufactured by Paver Systems for the Berth 208 cargo staging area.
According to Rob Goossens, vice president of Precise Paving and the original installer on the project, durability was the defining advantage. “Aesthetically, these systems can be designed to look great, but the durability of segmental paver systems is the greatest strength,” he said.
Goossens also explained that mechanical installation significantly increased production rates, allowing crews to average more than 10,000 square feet of pavers installed per day. This included eight to nine truckloads of pavers and two to three dump trucks of sand daily. “The speed of install was very important to the project,” he noted. “Overall, 750,000 square feet of pavers were installed on schedule, even with a tropical storm flooding the area.”
Another key benefit was immediate usability. “The Port of Tampa Bay was able to load containers on the pavers immediately after installation, which was a huge plus,” Goossens added. “Most other pavement methods require time to cure before taking traffic.”
The Result
A Lasting Impression:
The Final Transformation
This project represents one of the largest installed paver systems in the United States. Since being mechanically installed in 1992, the concrete pavers at Berth 208 have required little to no maintenance, despite continuous use for unloaded cargo storage, including container boxes and palletized equipment. The site experiences nonstop port traffic, with large cranes and stacks of steel pipe creating extreme point loads.
In 2022, a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) evaluation was completed in cooperation with the Port Authority in accordance with ASTM E2840. The field study found the pavers to be in satisfactory condition. According to Kevin Earley, Director of Commercial Hardscapes for Oldcastle APG, “A satisfactory PCI rating of 78 after three decades of service is noteworthy.”
“After walking the Port of Tampa Bay cargo site, the paver system is still in good condition and looks to have many years of life left,” said Rob Goossens. “It was great to visit the Port of Tampa in March 2022 to see in person how well the pavers have performed over 30 years of heavy port traffic.”
Assessments from Port of Tampa Bay engineers and contractors, along with the pavement condition survey, point to this installation as a testament to the longevity of interlocking concrete paver systems with minimal maintenance. “Pavers are still thought of as a decorative pavement option, when in fact this project proves that paver systems are one of the most durable and cost-effective options over time,” Goossens concluded.
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