In an effort to reduce automobile traffic between Oceanside and San Diego, a high-speed ferry service was established between the two Southern California cities. Bellingham Marine was chosen as the turnkey constructor to design and build its Unifloat concrete floating dock systems for ferry docking services.

Designed for a 3′ significant wave environment, the Broadway Pier dock in San Diego consists of 14′-wide concrete x 10′-long modules with overall dimensions of 16′ x 150′. It features a steel wale design and boasts eight new 24″-diameter x 80′-long, octagonal, pre-stressed concrete pilings, and an ADA-compliant, aluminum gangway system. The existing Oceanside dock was retrofitted with one 8′ x 12′ and two 10′ x 12′ Unifloat modules that now act as gangway landing floats.

The design and construction of this dock’s gangway boarding platforms were especially important in order to keep them at the proper elevation for boarding the ferries. Although challenged by strict deadlines and Least Tern piledriving restrictions, Bellingham worked in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation and others to accomplish this project.

Bellingham’s Southwest Division staff estimates the company’s design/build methodology saved about 33% of the total cost of the project and up to 6 months of the design time. Bellingham was also responsible for all landside amenities and utilities, including electrical service, railings and security gates.

Bellingham Marine designs, manufactures and installs floating dock systems and dry storage buildings for marinas and boat facilities worldwide.

Contact Bellingham Marine, P.O. Box 8, Bellingham, WA 98227. www.bellingham-marine.com.