A contribution from Steve Cress of American Piledriving Equipment Inc. (APE):

California steadily is rebuilding some of its world-renowned monuments, and Pier 19 located in San Francisco is one of them. The rebuilding of Pier 19 has been long overdue, but tourism still is in full swing with cruise ships coming and going out of the port. After the demolition of the pier, the first order of things is, of course, the foundation. Power Engineering of Northern California was charged with installing 72-inch-diameter steel pipe pile – 160 feet long with a 1-inch wall thickness. Driving these steel casings wasn’t easy with all the restrictions associated with the project. Tight work space with little room to maneuver, and all the strict regulations involved made this job quite the challenge. So when Power Engineering decided to take on the endeavor, it called APE to get the equipment it needed. With the tough sands and the sticky mud in the Bay Area, the company chose the APE 600 Vibro to do the job.