Temporary Ban on Helical Piles in New York City
April 29, 2008
New York, New York
Overview
As of 3/24/2008, all helical piles less than 8” in shaft diameter have been banned from use within the city of New York, per the Office of Technical Certification & Research (OTCR). OTCR issued a Technical Bulletin that states specifically why the ban is in place and what is being done to solve the problem. The city understands that helical piles are used extensively on construction projects within the city, and that a permanent ban is both unreasonable & costly to the city. It is important to note that this ban does not include helical piers used as tiebacks.
History of the Ban
Information on this issue is difficult to obtain as the details are a bit sketchy, but as Helical Pier World understands it, there were two foundation failures in NYC within a relatively short span of time. Both foundations were helical pile foundations. In defense of the helical installers and the helical industry as a whole, HPW heard from an anonymous source that both failures were a result of over excavation at an adjacent construction site. The source went on to say that this over excavation would have caused a failure of any foundation type.
NYC Reaction
As expected, there was a knee jerk reaction by the authorities. Because slender shaft helicals are not approved in the 1968 building code, the ban was put in place to give the city time to further evaluate helicals and determine how to incorporate them into the building code. In fact, this trend for inclusion in state and local building codes is happening more frequently across the country as helical foundations continue to increase share of the overall deep foundation market.
Reality of the Ban
Multiple anonymous sources have informed HPW that although this ban is in place, building plans with helical pile designs of less than 8” in shaft diameter have been getting approval by the city anyway. Is this a case of the left hand not talking to the right, or is it the political nature of the NYC construction business? HPW can only speculate. What we have learned is the ban is being loosely enforced - if at all. It kind of reminds me of a leash law for cats.
Rich Davis
Editor-in-Chief
Helical Pier World
