Battery Weed Seawall and Pier Condition Study, Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, New York

Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, P.C.

The NPS proposes to link all the parks in the Gateway National Recreation Area directly by water transportation. The Fort Wadsworth facility includes the Battery Weed, a granite block seawall and a granite block pier. The study was conducted to identify the existing conditions of the seawall and pier and prepare recommendations for their repair. The Battery Weed, seawall and pier are on a small piece of land that extends into the Verrazzano-Narrows strait. These structures were built between 1845 and 1864. Battery Weed is a stone masonry military fort with a seawall along its water sides. The seawall is also made of granite masonry and is 1 000-ft long. The pier is an L-shaped structure about 40-ft wide by 80-ft long. The purpose of this report is to summarize the study performed, including a historic description of the structures, existing conditions and preliminary recommendations for remedial repairs. The existing conditions of the seawall and pier were documented based on field observations which included an underwater diving inspection and visual observations of the above water elements made during Mean Low Water (MLW). Our engineering evaluations herein are based on our field observations and our review of available historical data. Our work included: 1) A review of historic geologic and geotechnical information within our in-house files; 2) A review of historic site maps and reports within our in-house files; 3) A site topographical and boundary survey of the waterfront structures ; 4) Site visits to document the approximate locations of surface utility features such as manholes, vaults, etc. 5) Underwater and topside visual inspections of the pier; 6) Visual inspections of existing gravity seawall structure; Our understanding of the proposed site development is based on conversations with the National Park Service (NPS). This report takes into account and updates the previous study performed by Langan. The site history and building chronology have been re-verified and the existing conditions and repair recommendations have been completely updated based on the present conditions as of December 2005.