As part of a planned increase in pile design capacities, Foundation Testing found it necessary to design and build a new pile load test system capable of test requirements of up to 8000 kips. (8 million pounds) The new world record system, including the main beam, has now been delivered to this Office and is ready for use.

The Static Pile Test Quality Team identified a potential $5.8 million cost reduction which can be realized this fiscal year if the Department purchases a larger pile load test apparatus at a capital cost of $1 million. This cost reduction would continue indefinitely into the future at an estimated rate of $10,000,000 per year.

The use of large diameter, high-capacity Cast-In-Steel Shell (CISS) piles offers substantial cost savings for many projects. The cost savings result from:

· The avoidance of cofferdam construction, which is expensive, has environmental impacts, and requires longer construction duration.
· The reduction in the number of Cast-In-Drilled Hole (CIDH) piles, which have a very high incidence of contractor claims.
· Optimal bridge design

High-capacity piles have been underutilized because their capacity cannot be verified. These piles usually result in fewer piles with little or no redundancy -- so verification of capacity is essential. Instances where the use of these piles is now unavoidable have been designed with what is thought to be conservative lengths, but being too conservative has resulted in successful contractor claims of $1,300,000. Verification of capacity will allow shortening the piles.

For individual structures, significant savings of time and money occur when cofferdam construction can be replaced by the use of high-capacity piles. Cofferdam construction is often very expensive and time-consuming, especially when utilized for deep excavations. Based on past experience and actual contractor bids, Structure Construction estimates indicate that 25% of the total structure cost can be saved by eliminating cofferdams in favor of high-capacity piles.