Deep Foundation Projects

Morris-Shea drilled 350 geothermal boreholes for the installation of 140,000 linear feet of ground loop heat exchanger piping at a technical facility in Central Indiana. Morris-Shea mobilized two advanced drill rigs, a CPT test unit and other support equipment to the plant expansion job site. The team drilled 4.5 inch diameter boreholes to a depth of 400 feet from drilling grade. Geothermal construction began in mid-July and was completed on schedule on November 24, 2025

Morris-Shea drilled 350 geothermal boreholes for the installation of 140,000 linear feet of ground loop heat exchanger piping at a technical facility in Central Indiana. Morris-Shea mobilized two advanced drill rigs, a CPT test unit and other support equipment to the plant expansion job site. The team drilled 4.5 inch diameter boreholes to a depth of 400 feet from drilling grade. Geothermal construction began in mid-July and was completed on schedule on November 24, 2025

Morris-Shea, an industry-leading deep foundation contractor, completed installation of approximately 8,000 DeWaal piles to be used as deep support for the new Austal USA Module Manufacturing Facility. The job site for the single story high bay structure is located at a waterside lot adjacent to Dunlap Drive in Mobile, Alabama. The DeWaal Pile System, a drilled displacement pile, is ideal for use as deep foundation in the harbor’s subsurface high groundwater environment.

Morris-Shea completed installation of 185 continuous flight auger (CFA) piles at the site of a new 27 story residential tower in Charlotte, North Carolina. The development will feature 238 apartment units, a multi-story parking facility and commercial space at the ground level. The project at 1200 Metropolitan Avenue also required the installation of specialty micropile anchors, rather than CFA piles, where subsurface rock was found at extremely shallow depths.

Morris-Shea installed Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piles for use as deep foundation for pipe racks at the new Dos Bocas Refinery in Paraíso, Mexico. The Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) facility will be the largest oil products refinery in the country. Morris-Shea was awarded the Site 2 pile contract after the successful installation of deep foundations at the renery’s Site 1 location. The CFA piles satisfy all foundation load requirements for pipe running up to a half mile in distance between storage tanks and/or processing plants. Morris-Shea’s Mexico team performed quality installations in jobsites congested with the ongoing activities, equipment and spoils of current and previous contractors.

Morris-Shea installed Continuous Flight Auger (CFA) piles for the new Hewson Hall deep foundation at the University of Alabama Culverhouse College of Business in Tuscaloosa. The building’s foundation was originally designed as 36”, 42”  and 48” drilled shafts supporting cast-in-place concrete columns and grade beams. The University substituted an alternate bid based on design loads prepared by The Structural Design Group, the Structural Engineer of Record (EOR).  Morris-Shea provided a Value Engineered Alternate design consisting of 24” and 36” CFA piles capable of satisfying all load requirements. CFA piles were ideal for the project’s soil conditions and vibration and noise concerns..

Birmingham, Alabama deep foundation contractor, Morris-Shea, installed nearly 1500 rigid inclusions at a new 650-unit multi-family development in Everett, Massachusetts. Foundations for this six-story building project required the construction of rigid inclusions for ground improvement at the site of an old Boston Street debris recycling plant. The Morris-Shea team utilized two Fundex 3500 drill rigs, including one with a unique clamping system at the top of the mast, for installation of continuous drilled DeWaal rigid inclusions ranging in depths up to 133 feet.

Morris-Shea, an industry-leading deep foundation contractor based in Birmingham, Alabama, installed continuous flight auger (CFA) piles at the job site of VERVE, a new apartment living facility near the university campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Morris-Shea construction team worked in the tight confines of an urban job site that restricted positioning of heavy equipment and minimized installation access.

Morris-Shea Bridge Company, a Birmingham-based deep foundation contractor, installed 2,368 slab (shallow) rigid inclusions (RI’s) at the Everett, MA job site. The firm also set 555 RI’s for building columns to depths ranging up to 132’.

Morris-Shea soil mixing trencher at Novalis aluminum plant job site in Bay Minette, Alabama.

Morris-Shea soil mixing trencher at Novalis aluminum plant job site in Bay Minette, Alabama.

Morris-Shea installed the DeWaal Pile System as deep foundations for the new Gulf Shores High School in Baldwin County near Gulf Shores, Alabama. These drilled displacement piles will support two and three story classroom, performing arts and athletic buildings. Foundation installation commenced in late April and was completed on schedule in mid-July.

Morris-Shea installed DeWaal piles, rigid inclusions and shoring at Ford Motor Company’s expansive new production facility near Stanton, Tennessee.

Deep foundation piles for the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Bonita Springs, Florida will support two 20 story towers and a parking podium. Morris-Shea installed 1,406 De-Waal piles throughout the project site. Project specifications required two successful 14 inch and two 18 inch static load tests and one lateral load test. The Morris-Shea crew completed the project one month early.

Morris-Shea has the experience and manpower necessary to maintain the engineering integrity and construction processes demanded for multiple energy projects. The concurrent installation of nearly 75,000 DeWaal piles at new LNG terminals in Corpus Christi, Texas and Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana required numerous highly skilled crews of deep foundation professionals. This experience grew from years of DeWaal pile installation at LNG liquefaction projects near Freeport, Texas and in Sabine Pass, Cameron Parish and Calcasieu Pass, Louisiana. Today, the DeWaal Pile System provides critical foundations for advanced LNG terminals operating throughout the southern United States. Morris-Shea fields the most experienced deep foundation energy construction teams in North America. Since 1992, Morris-Shea has installed hundreds of thousands of DeWaal piles throughout the United States, the Caribbean and South America.

Morris-Shea installed 527 16 inch diameter DeWaal Piles as deep foundation for the new College Point Logistics distribution and warehousing center in Queens, New York. The logistics complex is located near Whitestone Expressway with easy access to major highways, airports and railroads. The expansive light industrial center will incorporate an 81,000 square foot building with 160,000 square feet of parking structure. Birmingham-based Morris-Shea successfully completed the project in three phases under conditions made difficult by inclement weather and job site concerns.|

Morris-Shea, a leading deep foundation contractor, installed 7033 DeWaal Drilled Displacement Piles as deep foundations for all major structures at the Airbus U.S. Manufacturing Facility in the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. The Mobile, Alabama center assembles and paints Airbus A220 and A320 aircraft. Conventional augercast piles were initially specified for the first aircraft assembly building’s deep foundation at the job site, but the Morris-Shea team presented DeWaal pile as a Value Engineered Alternate. The DeWaal Pile System proved successful in reducing project expense and expedited construction scheduling. This patented pile was later specified for all deep foundations at the Airbus campus.

Morris-Shea (MSB) installed a deep foundation system for the construction of a parking structure and oce building at the nCino Headquarters in Wilmington, NC. The 640 car, four story parking deck and 90,000 SQ FT, three story oce building expand the corporation’s headquarters footprint. The Morris-Shea team utilized a PVE 90 Drill Rig and Schwing Concrete Pump to install 170 12-inch diameter DeWaal piles at the building site. MSB drilled 147 14-inch diameter piles for the parking structure’s deep foundation.