A barge struck a utility crossing in the Florida Keys in late 2020. The crossing—from Key West to Fleming Key—was located within U.S. Navy property. The aerial crossing supported all the waste water for Key West and was at risk of collapsing after both piles on the struck bent were broken through.
The contractor, Ebsary Foundation of Miami, Fla., mobilized to install emergency temporary support to take the weight off of the compromised support. Then the permanent cased augercast pile repair was initiated. Three new dolphin clusters were also installed to prevent damage to vital infrastructure in the future.
The city of Key West selected the Lee Composites LC120 HDPE Pile Sleeves Gray/Black 35-foot length to fit 14-inc OD steel piles. The goals were to provide corrosion protection to the steel pile; to protect the pile from abrasion; and to allow the pile sleeves to blend in with the concrete bridge piling.
Given the project conditions—which included constant boat traffic, strong currents and coordination of a city emergency project on Navy property—a fast and reliable solution was made to use the LC120 HDPE Pile Sleeves.
The LC120 & LC187 HDPE Pile Sleeves provide the following benefits:
- American-made, prefabricated in Houston, Texas
- available in black & light gray colors;
- short lead time: approximately 2-3 weeks;
- will fit most any consistent size OD pile (steel, fiberglass, concrete);
- multiple lengths available;
- made from virgin high-density polyethylene;
- ready to slide down the pile for final assembly (hardware not included);
- can be turned to get better surface area over time or flipped from bottom to top.
