Work began back in February 2016 on one of the
UK’s largest civil engineering and marine construction projects, the
Thames Tideway Tunnel. The Thames Tideway Tunnel is projected to
make the Thames clean again by channeling and controlling between 39-50 million cubic metres of rain water and intercepting the overflow from 34 of the most polluting combined sewage overflows. The construction of the tunnel will be completed over the next seven years.
Red7Marine was not only used because of it’s expertise in
marine consultancy but also for its
marine plant hire.
The jackup barge hired for the project was the
Haven Seaway. It was deployed on the Thames Tideway Tunnel project to enable the construction of a new pier which will replace the existing Blackfriars pier.
The
marine plant was hired by Volker Stevin because it was required to fit between the Blackfriars rail bridge and the road bridge, a space blocked by the remaining piers. The construction began at Chambers Wharf located beneath Tower Bridge.
In addition to the
marine plant hire, Red7Marine’s
design skills have been used on the project to enable access to the jackup barge. The Haven Seaway had to be spun 180 degrees so that it could be positioned in between the old bridge foundations and the road bridge which was a gap of 17m. Red7Marine developed and
fabricated an access gateway from the client’s pontoon which was able to cope with the fluctuating tide levels of the river.
Red7Marine’s culture of safety is at the heart of every project they complete, and is a reflection of how all companies should work within the
marine construction industry. At Red7Marine’s Ipswich facility a
custom fabrication of The Haven Seaway was required to aid
safe transit underneath the Thames Bridges. This meant shortening the existing 19m legs to 13m and 8m leg extensions were prepared for installation once in location. A 90t
telescopic crane was also loaded on to the
jack up rig before it departed for location.
The Haven Seaway was not the only piece of
marine plant hired and deployed from Red7Marine There were two additional
jackup barges hired, the Haven Seariser 1 and The Haven Seariser 2 were involved with
sheet piling activities.
Red7Marine worked closely alongside with the
Port of London Authority and
Volker Stevin to develop
a passage plan to allow for air draught under the bridges and water depth for the increased draught of the Haven Seaway.
The
Thames Tideway Tunnel is projected to take seven years of construction, involve 70 worksites and the new tunnel will replace the current sewage system and
make the Thames clean again.
