Eagle`s Divers Beau Up On Storm-Damaged Casino - Broco

These Games Weren’t Rigged
O
n the morning of August 29,
2005, an ominous, grayishgreen wall of water smashed the
coastline of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Considered by the National Weather Service
as one of the worst storms to hit the United
States, Hurricane Katrina’s destructive
swath stretched over 300 miles – from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Mobile, Alabama.
Katrina’s storm surge was greatest along the
Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“We had a crane barge in Biloxi’s back
bay when Katrina came ashore. From the
debris on the crane’s boom, I think the surge
was over 30-feet high,” says Robert Baker,
General Manager of Baker Pile Driving &
Site Work, (Madisonville, LA), a marine and
land contractor in Mississippi and Louisiana.
“Katrina threw our barges and equipment
around pretty good.”
Biloxi, with its thriving gaming industry,
sits along the Mississippi gulf coast. In the
days and weeks following the storm, people
assessed the damage to their business and
family lives. Individuals were asking, “How
do we rebuild?” Casino owners were asking
the same question.
When Katrina made her unwelcome
landing, many of the casinos along Mississippi’s coast sat on barges, usually a series of
barges. Most of the casinos were damaged
beyond repair – some even thrown onshore.
But one casino was built differently from
the rest.
Eagle’s Divers Beau Up On
Storm-Damaged Casino
By Ronald Ward, Jr.
The Beau Rivage
The Beau Rivage casino was designed
more like an oil platform – with its barges
submerged underwater. On top of this
structure sits the casino and a 32-story
luxury hotel overlooking the Gulf of Mexico.
The design allowed the storm surge to pass
underneath the structure above, while the
barges remained underwater. Although its
unique design prevented total destruction,
the immense energy created by Hurricane
Katrina’s rush of water still caused extensive
damage to the Beau Rivage – both above and
below water.
Structural beams connecting the barges
to the superstructure were ripped apart.
Many of the connections between the barges
showed signs of cracking.
To fix the underwater damage, Eagle Diving & Marine Services was called in to assist
the Beau Rivage Restoration Project. A division of Baker Pile Driving & Site Work, Eagle
has provided diving services since 2002.
A Deadline to Meet
At the outset, the Beau Rivage set the
one year anniversary of Katrina, August 29,
2006, as the re-opening date. To meet the
deadline, the casino categorized repairs as
either critical path or maintenance.
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Critical path items were those areas of
repair identified by the casino as structurally necessary for reopening. These included
beams that were completely separated from
their footing. Although maintenance items
were still necessary, the casino did not
require those repairs before re-opening.
“The scope of this project was different because of the extent of damage,” says
Baker. “The hotel and casino sustained a
lot of damage both above and below the
water. The topside contractor at times had
hundreds of employees on-site. In order
to reopen the casino, there were dozens
of companies on site. Just moving people
and material into place was challenging at
times. I think our divers were thankful just
to get into the water, and away from the
commotion above.”
Robert Baker, General Manager,
and Mark Crowell, Eagle’s Dive
Supervisor, oversaw the debris
removal process.
Of Welding Rods and the Critical Path
In order to accomplish the task, Eagle
Diving & Marine Services utilized several
teams of divers.
“Our dive teams inspected the damaged
areas,” says Mark Crowell, the job supervisor for Eagle. “We conducted visual inspections, and followed up with magnesium
particle testing, or MT tests. MT allows us
to detect the extent of cracking in an area.”
Once the cracks were located and evaluated, Eagle’s divers on the weld team per-
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Eagle Diving welders Chris Martin (left) and Lauren Wyman (right), sizing up the damage and stickin’ it back together.
formed the repairs. Some of the structural
beams were completely separated from the
barge, and needed to be reattached.
Eagle’s divers worked with the topside
contractor to replace or repair the structural
beams. Flat pieces of metal – called doublers
– sit between the structural beam and the
barge. Because of the peculiar makeup of the
steel used on the doublers, Eagle searched
for an appropriate welding rod.
A 3/32-inch nickel alloy rod, developed
by Broco (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), fit the
bill. Following the guidance of the American
Welding Society (AWS), Eagle developed
welding procedures to meet the requirements of the job.
For the project, Eagle qualified welding
procedures in all positions required by the
casino. Thomas C. West, Director of Welding Engineering Services (Lafayette, LA),
served as the casino’s welding consultant.
West evaluated and approved Eagle’s dive
procedures.
Tough Welding for the Eagle Eyes
“Due to the water quality at the casino,
we conducted some testing at our facility in
Madisonville, in the Tchefuncte River, and
created the welding procedures for the job,”
says Robert W. Baker.
“On good days, our welders worked with
poor visibility – usually only up to six inches.
Even so, the weld had to stick,” adds Mark
Crowell.
In order to confirm the welds, Eagle
conducted ultrasonic testing (UT) on the
welded areas. “UT gives us confirmation that
there was full penetration of the weld,” says
Crowell.
Armed with Broco’s nickel alloy welding
rod and accepted weld procedures, Eagle
was on the task. Yet, to finish the critical
path items on time, Eagle faced a new challenge – storm debris. Lots of it. Mattresses,
chairs, trees, slot machines, you name it.
Eagle put the debris team on the job to clear
the way.
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A prepped full penn crack,
running 60 inches.
Some Rough & Tumble Ops Managers
Throughout most of the project, Eagle dispatched four dive
teams on the project – a debris team, an inspection team, a weld
preparation team, and a weld team. Each team had four members.
On many days a couple of unofficial team members – a pair
of alligators – worked as observers to the project. Unfazed by the
salty water of the Gulf of Mexico, the gator team found their way
underneath the casino from a drainage pipe. The gators kept a
keen watch over the repairs, without getting too friendly with the
divers.
Eagle completed its critical path items more than six weeks
before the casino re-opened on the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – August 29, 2006.
In the months following completion of the critical path repairs,
Eagle focused on maintenance repairs. Most of the maintenance
repairs involved cracks to the structure and connections between
Steven and Harold “Jerry” Smith wondering
“Who’s gonna taste it?”
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The Eagle Diving crew (L to R): Mark Crowell, Clayton Murphrey, Chuck
Blagrove, Tim Tichnell, Ben Hannon, John Higgins, Lyle Witchley, Joe
Middledorf, Shawn Henry, Roy Smith, Kurt Ward, Bobby Davis, Donald
Waldner, Dan Kuspit, Lauren Wyman, Houston Ennis, and Chris Martin.
The inspection services provided on the project by
ATC and Southern Inspection Services were crucial to
Eagle’s work on the project. The coordinated efforts of
these companies made this project a success.
Many of us along the gulf coast see the world in a
different way since Katrina. Our lives befoe the storm
– affectionately called “pre-K” – was the old norm. Since
Katrina, our fast-changing world has defined the new
norm. UW
Ronald Ward, Jr. is an attorney and freelance writer
from Mandeville, LA.
the barges. These repairs were accomplished after the casino reopened for business.
In all, Eagle’s divers put down over 3,000 inches of weld using
Broco’s 3/32 nickel alloy rod.
Teamwork Pays Off
The underwater portion of the restoration project was successful because of the hard work and dedication of Eagle’s team members. And Eagle’s team members came from near and far – from
Maine to Alaska, from Michigan to Hawaii. The divers moved into
the disaster zone in order to work the project.
“The devastation of the area made time deadlines even more difficult. We had only six months to complete the critical path items.
But at the beginning of the job, basic supplies were hard to come
by. You couldn’t just go to the store to buy even a hammer. Everything, no matter how basic, had to be trucked in,” says Crowell.
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Chris “Jersey” Griffin
asks, “How close
was that gator?”
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