''Different Equipment Requires Different Pavements'' Development of the Pavement Sections for the Proposed Bayport Container Terminal-

Abstract

The proposed Bayport Container Terminal will be a completely new facility for the Port of Houston Authority. Not only will all of the pavement areas be of new construction, but much of the container handling equipment will also be new. The Port of Houston Authority has recognized this opportunity to investigate the relationship between different types of container handling equipment and their effect on the pavement section. This has enabled the total capital expenditure on equipment and appropriate pavement options to be considered as one. This was particularly relevant in the selection of the rubber tire gantry cranes that will operate in the grounded yard sections of the terminal without runway beams, and the pavements to be utilized in this area. As such, the design of the pavements for the facility included a study of the interaction between the equipment and the pavement. This paper describes the study that included comparison of eight and sixteen wheel rubber tire gantry cranes and top-picks, and tractors/chassis and hostlers/bombcarts. It also describes the development of the pavement sections for each operational area, and compares the alternates of jointed reinforced concrete pavement and continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The final pavement section is described. A drainage layer was adopted under the concrete to reduce pumping issues typical of rigid pavements over the high plasticity clays in this area, and the reinforcement and joints were also given careful attention to reduce the potential for moisture penetration to the underlying clay subgrade.