Pier 300 Wharf Extension- Liquefaction and Lateral Spreading
The Port of Los Angeles (POLA) is currently planning to deepen the Inner Harbor channels and turning basins to accommodate the most modern vessels in the commercial container fleet. Dredge materials from the Channel Deepening Project will be beneficially used to create the 40-acre Pier 300 extension.

To assess the stability of the Pier 300 extension containment rock dikes under various earthquake scenarios, dynamic time-history analyses were performed using the software package FLAC. Those analyses assessed dike performance by evaluating lateral displacements and vertical settlements. Also investigated and modeled numerically, were the possible initiation and effects of soil liquefaction in hydraulic fill materials and relatively shallow sandy layers of the foundation soils. This study included:

• Ground Motion Characterization.
• I-D equivalent linear (SHAKE) site response analysis.
• 2-D nonlinear (FLAC) site response analyses.
• Evaluate potential for soil liquefaction.
• Numerically model cyclically induced pore pressures and onset of liquefaction.
• Estimate magnitude of lateral ground movement.
• Estimate magnitude of ground settlement.