Babcock | North Wales

16 Jan

When main contractor, Babcock, needed an immediate and effective temporary bridge solution to enable access to undertake both the emergency demolition and replacement of an electricity pylon in the Dwyryd estuary, North Wales, they contacted Groundforce Bridge, who were able to meet both their technical criteria and deadline.

The Project

Working on behalf of Energy Alliance, Babcock were tasked with the demolition and replacement of the tower when it began to lean, following structural failure due to erosion of part of its foundations. Following an emergency meeting with the client, which personnel from Groundforce Bridge attended, three temporary modular bridges were supplied. These included two 10m x 3m Vehicle Bridges, which were modified to meet the client’s requirements, and a 7.25m x 3.2m Vehicle Bridge. The client requirements for a bridge width of 6m was needed to accommodate a 200 tonne piling rig to be used during the remedial works. Another critical factor of the scheme was scheduling, with immediate emergency works taking place once the tower was condemned no longer fit for purpose.

The Solution

A high speed response from Groundforce Bridge was paramount for this project. Within just one working week, the scheme had developed from an initial query to a complete install of the 6m x 10m Vehicle Bridge. This was achieved with the joint efforts of Groundforce Bridge operational staff, technical staff and also the help of operational staff at Groundforce’s Hilton depot in Derbyshire who carried out modifications to the handrails. Groundforce Bridge also worked closely with the client’s temporary works engineers, providing product information to incorporate into their design

Following the first installation the construction team decided amendments needed to be made. To accommodate these design modifications Groundforce Bridge responded rapidly, and sent an additional operational crew to site to carry out remedial works. This included a full recovery and install over a period of 15 hours during low tide. During the same operation, the crew installed a 7m Vehicle Bridge at a second location further down the power line, in order for the client to continue their works unhindered during this critical time of their schedule.

The paramount installation times, working near water during high tides and the extensive referencing of information with the temporary works engineers for Energy Alliance made this project one of the more complex schemes of 2013.

Client Matt Staley, Head of Overhead Lines Cable and Substations for National Grid showed great appreciation for the rapid response and hard work of everyone involved..

There are occasions when a job needs a real team effort to achieve what on the face of it looks like an insurmountable task and it was great to see how everybody pulled together to rise to this significant