On the Columbia River, pile dikes are part of a system of structural and operational measures to establish and maintain the Federal Navigation Channels (FNCs). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Portland engaged Taylor Engineering to evaluate alternatives and develop designs to repair and rehabilitate the Sand Island and Baker Bay pile dike systems.

Dike inspections in 2010 and 2014 rated the Sand Island system in poor condition. Allowing the Sand Island pile dikes to degrade further would have reduced navigability in the region. To repair the dikes and avoid these consequences, Taylor Engineering produced a Design Documentation Report (DDR) that evaluated design concepts and selected the final preferred structural form. Through a multidisciplinary analysis, the team evaluated eleven different alternatives and selected a preferred solution that would comprise two rows of 24-inch diameter steel pipe piles constructed offset from the original pile structure alignment.

The Baker Bay pile dikes had deteriorated and lost their hydraulic function. This has caused increased channel shoaling and shoreline erosion. Taylor Engineering produced an Engineering Design Report (EDR) to formulate design alternatives that address the shoaling and erosion issues by repairing the pile dikes. The EDR developed hydrodynamic and wave models to evaluate alternative design configurations, applied the model results to develop design loads for each design alternative, evaluated potential construction materials, identified construction methods, made recommendations regarding the preferred design, developed structural and civil engineering design details, and developed a quantity take-off and construction cost estimate for the preferred design.