Ports and Harbours – Mackley Engineering https://mackley.co.uk Engineering a Sustainable Future Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:08:58 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://mackley.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/mackley-logo-dark.svg Ports and Harbours – Mackley Engineering https://mackley.co.uk 32 32 Rye Harbour Western Training Wall https://mackley.co.uk/ports-and-harbours/rye-harbour-western-training-wall/ Mon, 14 Aug 2023 10:29:36 +0000 https://mackley.co.uk/?post_type=ports_and_harbours&p=731
Protecting
designated Sites

SSSI, SPA & Ramsar

Project
INCLUDED

Design & build

pile
types

Cantilevered & anchored

working
adjacent

Active RNLI station

This project involved replacing approximately 1475m steel sheet piling that forms the western training wall of the River Rother at Rye Harbour.

We’ve gone full circle at Rye as Mackley originally constructed the quay in 1937, so we were removing piles that we had installed some 75 years before as they reached the end of their design life.

Rye Harbour sits in a highly protected environment with SSSI, SPA and Ramsar designation.

The training wall itself is vital to the maintenance of the harbour’s navigation, but it is also an important habitat for local wildlife and migratory birds.

Throughout the project, we therefore had to take great care to protect the natural environment.

The works included the design and construction of a sheet piled wall with steel capping. The new piles were designed to be cantilever piles except for the 50m next to the RNLI which were anchored (all the original piles were also anchored). We installed 8 new marker posts, fitted steel frames clad with timber to the new piles, and removed approximately 1,050m of existing steel sheet piled wall.

Main features of the project included:

  • Improving the formation of the access road so that we could track and use crawler cranes to install the piles.
  • Using 3 135 tonne crawler cranes, a 120 tonne crawler crane and a 100 tonne crawler crane, working from the land to put in the piles.
  • Utilising a 65 tonne crawler crane working on a jack up barge installing the piles.
  • A 35 tonne excavator fitted with demolition shears on a jack up barge was used to assist with removal of the redundant piles.
  • The 50 metres of piles adjacent to the RNLI have a concrete capping beam and slabs behind the piles.
]]> Free Wharf Enabling Works, Shoreham https://mackley.co.uk/ports-and-harbours/shoreham-free-wharf-enabling-works/ Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:32:59 +0000 https://mackley.co.uk/?post_type=ports_and_harbours&p=564
cfa
piles

273

steel sheet
piling

300m

civils
upgrade

Within
operating harbour

structures

Complex
concrete

multiple
disciplines

Construction
coordination

This project involved upgrading a derelict wharf that runs for 300m on the tidal River Adur in Shoreham Harbour for a new residential development.

Our scope of works was:

  • Establish a 30m width works area along the river frontage 
  • Design & install 273No. CFA piles as foundations for the new river frontage structure 
  • Supply & install 330m of new sheet piles including returns at the western and eastern ends of the site 
  • Complex excavation behind the existing river wall 
  • Construction of new reinforced concrete structure to become the river wall and form part of the basement car park utilising water resistant concrete.

Applying ingenuity – finding solutions to tidal ingress and structural stability. Water ingress:

The original design intended for the existing river wall with minor repairs to act as a cofferdam to keep the excavation behind dry. However, upon inspection it became clear that the wall was in such poor condition that repair was unfeasible. To make matters worse, existing walings prevented the installation of the planned return sheet piles at either end of the site, intended to close off the excavation and prevent water ingress.

The Client excavated behind the river wall and cut the walings, resulting in the partial excavation behind filling with river water. Our Engineers therefore advised, and gained approval for, a new water-tight sheet pile wall enclosing the site, installed using a press-piling rig so as not to destabilise the now unsupported existing wall.

Structural stability:

With the new sheet piled wall in, the site could be kept dry. However excavations for the new structure couldn’t impart loads onto the newly installed CFA piles, so we used a combination of a long reach excavator and a crane suspended pile cropper to reduce ground levels from a safe distance, with a mini-excavator to lower the ground around the CFA piles. 

The design also took no account of the CFA piles in their temporary state, so they could not accommodate lateral loads. Our Engineers designed additional pile reinforcement to keep them stable during construction. 

In addition, the lower concrete wall was not designed to act as a retaining wall during backfilling, so we used self-compacting material to backfill, avoiding any loading from plant near the new concrete structure.

]]> Yarmouth Pier Refurbishment https://mackley.co.uk/ports-and-harbours/yarmouth-pier-refurbishment/ Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:20:06 +0000 https://mackley.co.uk/?post_type=ports_and_harbours&p=560
Listed
structure

Grade II

heritage
lottery

Funding

Piles
installed

50

sustainability

Recycle & Reuse

schools
engagement

STEM

wooden
pier

UK’s largest

Opened in 1876, Yarmouth Pier stretches 186m into the Solent and is an important historic landmark on the Isle of Wight.

Mackley was commissioned to carry out major refurbishment works to the pier, after it was attacked by Gribble Worm which feed on submerged wood of docks and wharves.

Before any work could start, we needed to remove marine furniture and a number of structures on the pier itself including the Roundhouse, lamp posts, flag poles, benches, navigation lights, weather station and mooring bollards. These were safely stored and refurbished for later reinstatement.

We could then get on with the main refurbishment works. First we dismantled the existing pierhead structure and extracted the existing pierhead support piles to make way for 50 new piles and structure. The timber piles were fitted into steel boxes to reduce gribble attack and to make it easier to replace in the future. We also installed new low level wailings and cross bracing and restored some of the decking using refurbished timbers from Portsmouth Dockyard Queen Elizabeth Berth.

Contribution to University Research

Marine biologists from Bournemouth University were involved in the project as part of a study to monitor marine life around Yarmouth Pier. The University team analysed the piles which were removed during the works and collected data regarding marine life activity and feeding habits.

Portsmouth University also used some of the timbers that were removed to further their research on gribble worms which digest wood and extract nutrients to survive. We hosted regular visits from both universities to help them with their research.

Opportunity for STEM Activities

The Pier is an important and historic part of the island and several primary schools were doing projects on the pier. We showed year 5 and 6 pupils around the site, supplying them first with mini hardhats and mini hi-vis vests and then gave them a presentation to explain what we were doing and to also show some of the other projects we do.  Yarmouth Primary School later returned the favour and put on a show about the the story of the pier. They dressed up as characters from the site (gribble/site manager etc.) and invited the real Site Manager, Steve as a VIP to the assembly where they presented it.

Sustainability – Recycle and Reuse

We reused all the existing deck boards which had the names of the public on who sponsored them. It was therefore imperative that they went back into the same spot as they were before. Then they were re-carved and filled to look like new.

All of the timber removed from the pier, was recycled off site.

]]> Victoria Breakwater Upgrade, Brixham Harbour https://mackley.co.uk/ports-and-harbours/victoria-breakwater-upgrade-brixham-harbour/ Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:09:25 +0000 https://mackley.co.uk/?post_type=ports_and_harbours&p=556
operating
harbour

Operations Coordination

upgrade

Harbour Breakwater

floating
plant

Rock Placement

rock
revetment

300m

cornish
granite

Locally sourced

Protecting Brixham Harbour and its fishing fleet

Mackley repaired and improved the half-mile long Victoria Breakwater which protects the harbour in the south Devon town of Brixham.

First erected in 1843, Victoria Breakwater, which protects the harbour in the south Devon town of Brixham, was severely damaged during Storm Emma in March 2018. Mackley was contracted to repair and improve the half-mile long asset for the long-term.

We placed 300m of rock armour along the full height of the Seaward face of the Breakwater structure and installed a pre-cast concrete wave wall along its parapet. The rock armour was locally sourced Cornish Granite, delivered by sea and installed by barge onto the Breakwater structure. 

When we discovered previously unknown voids within the structure, our team developed a practical engineering solution, lining them with geotextile and filling them with foam concrete. 

The project team spoke daily with Brixham’s Harbour Master, organising our compound and deliveries without interrupting harbour operations. 

“Mackley gave a solid performance to deliver a robust improvement to Victoria Breakwater in a challenging exposed marine tidal zone.”

Torbay Council

]]> Tower Wharf Jetty Replacement https://mackley.co.uk/ports-and-harbours/tower-wharf-jetty-replacement/ Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:02:11 +0000 https://mackley.co.uk/?post_type=ports_and_harbours&p=548
36m TUBE
piles

29

marine &
land based

Construction

rediercted
Complex

Buried services

working
in an

Operational port

solutions
to

Licenced time limits

collaboration &

Value Engineering

The Seacon jetty at Tower Wharf on the outer Thames close to Thamesmead was originally constructed in the 1950s.

It had come to the end of its design life and needed replacing. However, this is a multi-purpose facility for shippers of neo-bulk cargoes such as steel, metals and forest products, so was essential that operations continued undisrupted throughout our work.

Our works involved:

  • Diverting buried services and a power kiosk from beneath the new ramp footprint
  • Installing 36m tube piles to support the new jetty and its ramp – 14 riverside, 10 landside and 5 king piles supporting the existing river wall.
  • Building a bulk fill access ramp connecting the piled jetty structure and wharf access roads.
  • Fitting pre-cast deck units to form the jetty substructure, then finishing with tarmac surfacing.
  • Complex excavation behind the existing river wall.

We delivered these works while dealing with two major constraints: the MMO licence restricted piling to avoid harm to migratory fish and we had to keep Seacon’s adjacent jetty operating throughout.

Early in the programme, the team found a large number of uncharted services underneath the main footprint of the jetty. Tracing and diverting these services would have resulted in a long delay, however our team came up with an entirely new access proposal that could be achieved in a shorter duration, still meeting the MMO restrictions.

Our engineers also worked with the designer and client to re-design the ramp, making it more stable on the very soft underlying ground conditions. Both solutions demonstrate our ingenuity and our approach of working with the designer and client to resolve project challenges.

Strengthening the wall required adding five 36m long 1016mm diameter anchor piles to the existing sheet piled wall, a separate wailing and new tie rods.

We constructed a bespoke piling gate to drive these piles accurately to avoid the existing tie rods.

They were installed in 2 phases to accommodate delivery by road (delivery by barge was not viable as this would severely disrupt the daily operations at the Main Terminal).

We drove the first 18m using an ABI piling rig; then the second 18m length was pitched and welded insitu. On completion of rigorous weld testing the full pile was then driven to depth by use of the more conventional crane and impact hammer. 14 of the seaward piles (7 rows of pairs) that support the new approach were driven as full 36m lengths. These were welded together and tested in advance on land within the site.

While the onsite welding was being carried out, we installed significant temporary works to construct a piling platform to enable a 400t Crawler Crane to carry out the seaward piling. Then to provide an additional safe access to work from, we brought in a modular Jack Up Barge, which was also used to lift in/out and support the piling gates.

With the piles driven to depth, work could begin to lift in the precast reinforced concrete cross beams, which were welded to the new tube piles. On completion of the welding the pile heads were grouted insitu.

New precast reinforced concrete slabs needed to be individually fabricated to ensure that the reinforcement interlocked. These were lifted on to the beams by use of the 400t crane on the landward side; after which further reinforcement stitch bars were installed and insitu concrete poured to form a monolithic jetty.

This was a challenging project that demonstrated some excellent engineering skills and big pieces of kit and materials

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