Project Overview
The Kalama Cruise project provides safe, secure berthing and ADA-compliant shore access for a variety of river cruise vessels that call at the Port of Kalama, Washington. From Kalama, roughly 76 miles up the Columbia River, river cruise visitors can explore all the area has to offer, including excursions to nearby Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument.
Before the new cruise ship was constructed, vessels would land in Kalama by bow-end beaching themselves at a location about a half-mile south of the new facility. They would deploy a landing ramp onto the moderately steep sandy slope and roll out sections of carpet on the sand to provide access to the frontage road where tour buses were staged.
PND designed a variable-height pedestrian gangway, meeting ADA accessibility requirements for all operational conditions. A pile-supported structural lift tower contains a screw-jack lift system that safely and reliably adjusts the gangway height to accommodate various vessel configurations, water elevations, and operational needs. The access gangway is wide enough to accommodate not just cruise visitors but also the public park visitors who want to take in the views from this unique vantage point overlooking the river.
Our Role
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Waterfront Engineering: The completed cruise berth consists of six large-diameter monopile dolphins with a floating fender unit and integrated mooring ring. This type of mooring dolphin provides consistent mooring for cruise vessels regardless of water elevation, as the floating fender maintains its freeboard.
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Structural Engineering: The dock accommodates berthing a 328-foot-long sternwheeler cruise vessel with capacity for unloading and loading approximately 180 passengers. An 8-foot-wide ADA-compliant pedestrian gangway connects the dock to an upland pathway that leads passengers to a transportation loading area.
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Civil Engineering: New paved sidewalks, lighting, emergency vehicle access, water main extension, fire hydrants, irrigation, and new landscaping.
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Contract Administration & Construction Support: Provided support with bidding, contract administration, submittal review, fabrication and on-site inspection and documentation to ensure a high-quality product and client satisfaction.
A State of the Art Welcome Mat for Kalama
The new berth is situated parallel with the flow of the Columbia River, off the main navigation channel, and just inside the extent of the existing timber and steel pile shore protection jetties. The placement was selected specifically to provide the required vessel draft without the need for maintenance dredging.
Recognizing this redeveloped space as the central community gathering space for Kalama, the cruise ship berth was specifically designed to be physically unobtrusive and visually welcoming.
In addition to the overwater structures, the Small Cruise Ship Berth project included several upland components to complement this keystone feature to the port’s public facilities.
