SECTION 720 - PILES
720-01 Untreated Timber Piles
SCOPE. This specification covers the material requirements for untreated timber piles. GENERAL. Timber piling shall consist of any species of wood that will withstand driving, except white or gray birch, poplar or basswood. Piles shall be clean-peeled and shall conform to the requirements of ASTM D25. BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. The inspector's indelible stamp of approval shall constitute sufficient basis of acceptance at the job site.
720-02 Treated Timber Piles
(Last Revised September, 2021) SCOPE. This specification covers the material requirements for treated timber piles. GENERAL. The requirements for treated timber piles shall conform to the applicable provisions of §720-01 Untreated Timber Piles with the following additions and modifications:
A.Piles shall be Southern Yellow Pine or Douglas Fir containing a minimum thickness of sapwood of not less than 1 1/2 inches in Southern Yellow Pine and not less than 1 inch of Douglas Fir at the butt ends.
B.Piles shall be peeled clean of bark, including the inner bark, soon after cutting, so that the piles are smooth and clean. Care shall be taken to remove as little sapwood as possible in the bark peeling operation. The preservative used in the treatment of piles shall conform to §708-31 Wood Preservative-Water Borne, or §708-32 Wood Preservative Oil-Borne. CONDITIONING AND TREATMENT. The conditioning before treatment and the preservative treatment shall conform to the requirements of American Wood Protection Association Standard U1-20, Commodity Specifications E (round timber piling) and G (marine/saltwater applications). INSPECTION OF PILES. The Contractor shall give the Department ample notice relative to the location of, and time when treating operations will take place. Inspection of piles will be made by inspectors designated by the Department, before, during and after the piles are treated at the treatment plant. No piles shall be shipped which do not bear, in legible form, the inspector's stamp of approval.
720-03 Casings for Cast-In-Place Concrete Piles
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Section 700 STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS (USC) January 1, 2026 VOLUME 4 The piles shall be subject to inspection by the Engineer after arrival at the site and no previous approval at the plant shall bar rejection in the field for injury, breakage, or defects discovered after the piles have left the treatment plant. Piles shall be free from damage or defects which would impair their usefulness or durability for the purpose intended. The use of irons or other devices for repairing or preventing checks, splits, or other defects will not be permitted. STORAGE AND HANDLING. All treated timber piles shall be carefully handled and properly stored. Any surface breaks which do not warrant the rejection of the pile shall be treated in accordance with AWPA M4 with the addition that at least three coats of preservative shall be applied. TREATMENT OF PILE HEADS AND BOLT HOLES. The heads of piles shall be treated as follows: The sawed surface and all bolt holes bored subsequent to treatment, shall be treated in accordance with AWPA M4. Any unfilled holes, after being treated with preservative shall be plugged with preservative treated plugs. The Contractor shall document regulatory compliance by obtaining and providing copies of any necessary permits pertaining to the purchase and field application of wood preservatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), to the Engineer. BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. The Inspector's indelible stamp of approval shall constitute basis of acceptance at the job site.
720-03 Casings for Cast-In-Place Concrete Piles
SCOPE. This specification covers the material requirements for casings used for cast-in-place concrete piles. GENERAL. When the diameter and thickness of pipes are shown on the plans, the material used shall conform to the requirements of ASTM A252, Grade 2, unless otherwise specified. The Contractor will be required to furnish the Engineer with two certified copies of the records of the physical tests performed on the newly manufactured pipe in accordance with the above ASTM requirements. In addition, a manufacturer's statement of certification, which explicitly verifies that the material and workmanship comply with the current ASTM standards for ASTM A252, Grade 2, must accompany each heat.
A.Thickness Requirements. The metal of shells which are directly driven shall have a thickness sufficient to withstand the driving without fracture or failure, but in no case shall the thickness be less than 0.1053 inch. Shells driven with a mandrel shall have a thickness not less than 0.0538 inch. Pipes shall have a thickness sufficient to withstand driving without fracture or failure but in no case shall the thickness of pipes be less than 3/16 inch unless otherwise shown on the plans. BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. The manufacturer's certification shall constitute sufficient basis of acceptance at the job site.
720-04 Steel H-Piles
SCOPE. This specification covers the material requirements for steel H-Piles. GENERAL. All steel H-Piles shall be rolled HP sections of standard dimensions. Steel for bearing piles shall be new and unused and shall conform to the requirements of 715-01 Structural Steel. Stock steel may be used.
720-05 Pile Shoes
NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Section 700 STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS (USC) January 1, 2026 VOLUME 4 BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. Material acceptance will be by material certification. The certifying statement must accompany each heat and must verify that the material and workmanship comply with the current ASTM standards for ASTM A709 Grade 50, or A992 Grade 50. Two copies shall be furnished to the Engineer. Buy America requirements apply.
720-05 Pile Shoes
SCOPE. This specification covers the material requirements for pile shoes. GENERAL. The pile shoes shall consist of ASTM A36 steel or equivalent material capable of withstanding driving without excessive deformation. BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. Approval by the DCES shall constitute acceptance.
720-06 Mechanical Pile Splices
SCOPE. This specification covers the requirements for mechanical splices for steel H-Piles. GENERAL. Steel used in the mechanical pile splices shall meet the requirements of §715-01 Structural Steel. BASIS OF APPROVAL. The material will be evaluated for conformance with the material requirements, and product samples may be required to be submitted for testing. Manufacturers may submit their product for evaluation to the DCES. The submission shall include copies of installation drawings, specifications, welding procedures meeting the requirements of the Steel Construction Manual, engineering calculations, test results, and quality control procedures for the splice manufacturer. Stamped engineering calculations, performed by a New York State Licensed Professional Engineer with current registration, shall show that the spliced pile has a theoretical bending capacity of at least 95% of the unspliced pile. Test results by an independent testing agency shall show that the bending strength on both the strong and weak axes of the spliced pile is at least as great as the calculated capacity of the splice. The tests shall be third point loadings of a spliced pile with the splice in the middle of the span. The tests shall be continued to failure. A minimum of two pile sizes shall be tested in each direction to prove the engineering calculations. If the submission is acceptable, the installation drawings will be stamped approved, returned to the manufacturer and the product will be placed on the Approved List. Any changes to the product, product manufacturing, or installation procedure will require re-submission and re-approval. BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE. The Contractor shall provide the Engineer with an installation drawing approved by the DCES showing the sizes and types of welds that are required. Mechanical pile splices will be accepted based on the product appearing on the Approved List and a material certification that the supplied product has the same chemical composition and mechanical properties as the product used in the testing. Buy America requirements apply.
720-99 for Site Manager Use
Piles in other states
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Source: Standard Specifications (US Customary Units), 2026 (Jan) Edition. Pages 1322–1324 of 1,489. View official source ↗