Case Studies Golfito Village & Marina | Waterfront Villa Support

Remote Waterfront Villas on Secure Foundations

Golfito, CR

Situated beside the tropical rainforest on a beautiful stretch of coastline, the Golfito Marina & Village promises to be an essential golf and tourist destination for the small Central American country of Costa Rica. With a large marina, numerous restaurants, desirable shops, and waterside villas all within a few steps, the still-under-construction resort will undoubtedly attract everyone from golfers looking for 18 holes of pleasure to families desiring a comfortable stretch of beach to rest, swim, and play.

SITUATION
The Golfito Marina & Village was to be built on the sand of the beach. In order to compensate for the ebb and flow of the tide and provide a strong foundation for the proposed structures, the owners used a combination of steel sheet piles and gravel/river rock fill to raise the lot level 12 vertical feet. The new buildings would sit atop this compact gravel and the nearly 20 ft. of sand beneath it. In order to provide the support needed, support piles would need to be extended through the gravel and sand to competent rock deep beneath the surface.

PROPOSED SOLUTION
Ram Jack Centro America designed a plan that included 2 7⁄8in. and 3 1⁄2 in. new construction helical piles to be driven through the gravel and sand to the rock below as deep as needed to provide the support required for building construction. After discussions with local Costa Rican engineers familiar with the project, Ram Jack Centro America decided to use a modified helical blade to drive through the dense, tough gravel.

OUTCOME
After a four-day customs delay in the delivery of steel, Ram Jack Centro America got to work. The delay proved to be a blessing in disguise, as it allowed further modifications of the custom pieces needed for the CAT320CL. The team worked 12 hours per day for 12 straight days. Despite on-the-fly adjustments, Ram Jack Centro America installed 82 piles to an average depth of 33 ft., providing the perfect foundation for the to-be-built resort structures. When finished, the project manager was “surprised Ram Jack finished ahead of schedule” and plans to use “Ram Jack to do Phase 2 in 2017.”

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