UK Project with a Geotechnical Value over £3M

This is for a ground engineering scheme (as a standalone project or part of a larger development) with a contract value of over £3M that stands out in terms of its credentials in innovation, sustainability, health and safety and value engineering.

Bam Mott MacDonald JV
Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme

The Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme demonstrates geotechnical innovation and value engineering, consideration of sustainability and safety and provides resilience to existing infrastructure and new developments in the city for the next 100 years. The project combines many different solutions including moveable weirs that generate water storage capacity when lowered the day before a storm, dredging of river constrictions, a Temporary Storage Reservoir, low height walls in the city with glass panels to maintain aesthetics, earth levees in the rural suburbs, strengthening of buildings included listed structures, raising bridges, passive seepage drains and a pumping station and Natural Flood Management measures. These solutions all contribute to the flood protection and provide overall enhancement of 19km of riverside to the public and ecology. This project also ‘enables’ 300 acres of development land in ‘South Bank’, one of Europe’s biggest regeneration programmes, to generate £500M investment, 35,000 new jobs and 8,000 new homes.

Bam Ritchies, Balfour Beatty, Jacobs, EDF & Bemo
Hinkley Point C - TSC GI Probing and Grouting - The Future is ours to Make

Throughout the duration of the works over 60,000 litres of Microfine grout was injected into the rock mass at six Tunnel Shaft Connections surrounding the axis of the yet-to-be constructed adits. Water inflows were reduced from up to 131 litres/minute down to 0.4 litres/minute; the equivalent of filling a bathtub up in 1.5 minutes versus 8.5 hours. Over 100,000 hours were worked by personnel delivering technically excellent, safety critical works in the tunnels 33m beneath the Bristol Channel and 3.5km out from the coast. The offsite trials, innovative thinking and quality focussed works’ enabled a highly successful outcome and will now protect the safety of subsequent critical breakout works, an essential element of the construction of Hinkley Point C.

Cementation Skanska,  John F Hunt & RKD
1 Liverpool Street

Cementation Skanska were commissioned by JF Hunt to construct the retaining wall and bearing piles for the basement foundations at the 1 Liverpool Street project in London. At ~90 m long and ~15 m wide, the project was just above Liverpool Street station surrounded by a labyrinth of above and underground infrastructure such as operational Hammersmith & City, Elizabeth Line, Broadgate Ticket Hall, and the Post Office Railway. The overall scheme involved the demolition of the existing building and the construction of 10-storey office. The geotechnical package of works comprised the reuse of existing foundations, complex temporary works scheme, secant and contiguous retaining wall and bearing piles. The new foundation system was installed using rotary bored piling techniques in some instances utilising a polymer support fluid to stabilise the bores.

Cognition Land and Water
Sheppey Regeneration

The Queenborough & Rushenden Regeneration Project, delivered by Cognition Land and Water for Homes England and their advisors Campbell Reith, successfully transformed underutilised brownfield land into a viable development platform. Overcoming challenges like poor ground conditions, contamination and ecological sensitivity, Cognition's proactive approach during the tender stage was crucial to project success. Solutions included accelerated consolidation settlement, sustainable soil management, and robust waste regulation negotiations with the Environment Agency. Engaging the local community, prioritising health and safety, and utilising innovative technologies were key project aspects. The outcome showcased collaborative, safe and efficient project delivery, earning praise from regulators, the Project Manager and Client. Cognition's efforts resulted in a derisked, shovel-ready site for housing, local facilities and a primary school, contributing to significant ecological enhancements and fostering positive community relationships.

Crouch Waterfall
Nuneham Viaduct

Nuneham Rail Viaduct carries more than 100 passenger and 40 freight trains a day over the River Thames. In April 2023 the bridge was subject to an unplanned closure. Repairing the structure required jacking the bridge deck from the river, removing the historic abutment and embankment and replacement with a new structure. Works of this complexity might typically take years of design and planning. In this case the design, assurance construction and commissioning took 10 weeks, a day earlier than the deadline proposed on the day of the closure. This scheme represents the very best of what can be achieved with close collaborative working between dedicated and professional teams and organisations.

John F Hunt Regeneration & Forkers
SPARK Mine Stabilisation

SPARK is a 25-hectare Henry Boot Developments (HBD) regeneration project in Walsall. John F Hunt Regeneration supported by Forkers delivered design and construct services to stabilise mine workings/shafts whilst ensuring containment and betterment of impacted groundwater (an Environment Agency requirement). Through a Pre-Construction Service Agreement, design development included expert review of mining risks, innovative design using treated groundwater in grout, and a simplified sequence such that the scheme was offered to the client on a fixed commercial basis. The PCSA allowed close collaboration with the client and their technical team. The strong relationships formed were taken into, and benefited, Regulator discussions/approvals, efficient delivery and timely validation in the construction phase. Health and safety and sustainability were key drivers in design development, including re-sequencing the works relative to original proposals and re-cycling of treated groundwater in grout.

Tony Gee
Teesport No.2 Ro-Ro Replacement Project

The Teesport No.2 Ro-Ro Replacement Project forms part of a strategic plan by owner and operator PD Ports to attract and secure new shipping contracts between the Northeast of England and continental Europe. Recognising that a key consideration for the development was minimising operational down-time of the Berth, at tender stage contractor Land and Water engaged with Tony Gee to investigate value engineering alternatives to the proposed suspended quay structure. The solution conceived by Tony Gee was unusual and innovative and comprised a series of sheet pile counterfort walls, each tied into the combi-wall through reinforced concrete capping beams. Due to the innovative nature of the design, it was essential that a collaborative relationship was maintained between the design and build team and the client team. The project was successfully completed within programme, in early 2023 and delivered a net saving of £0.75M on a £5M scheme.

TRU East Alliance, PC - J. Murphy & sons, Network Rail, Volker Rail, Systra, Siemens, Active Tunnelling
NOC23 - Successful simultaneous jacking of three tunnel boring machines in a restricted possession

NOC23 replacement is a package of work delivered as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade by the TRUe Alliance. Geotechnical investigation for the project identified that the failing NOC23 structure was resulting from the significant vertical displacement of the rail embankment as a result of highly compressible peats that were falling into a continuously growing buried dissolution feature (brecciated pipe). The proposed replacement works included infilling the existing structure and construct three new 1.8m diameter concrete replacement culverts using tunnel boring machines (TBMs). This was achieved whilst keeping two out of four tracks operational throughout by using rules of the route possessions. The construction was innovative and unobtrusive, and the procedure was a first of its kind using three TBM’s concurrently in the UK and completed within a 54-hour possession requiring various disciplines to come together to successfully complete the works whilst minimising disruption to rail passengers.

Zueblin Ground Engineering UK
Silvertown Tunnel Artifical Ground Freezing

The Silvertown Tunnel Project involves constructing a 1.4 km twin-bore road tunnel under the River Thames to connect Silvertown and Greenwich, alleviating congestion at the Blackwall tunnel and improving cross-river road transport. Using a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with precast concrete segments, the 11.91m diameter tunnels were excavated. For safety, seven cross-passages were necessary, and artificial ground freezing was employed for groundwater control during the construction of five of these passages. The freezing process utilized 26 freeze tubes, temperature monitoring holes, and drainage/pressure relief holes. Refrigeration units, housed in shipping containers, were connected to freeze tubes, maintaining a target temperature of -10°C. Real-time data on temperature, pressure, and flow were monitored throughout the process. The successful implementation of this ground engineering solution confirmed the viability of this unique approach in challenging environments.