Dockside development

May Gurney is nearing completion of a two-phase £1.3m piling contract to lay foundations for Regatta Quay, a new residential development on the banks of the River Orwell in Ipswich.

The scheme is being constructed on the site of a former maltings, and is part of the ongoing regeneration of the town's dockside and marina area. When complete (around mid-2009) Regatta Quay will comprise 290 apartments in two tower blocks of 12 and 15 storeys.

The first six-week piling phase was completed in mid-December 2006. May Gurney installed 247 continuous flight auger (CFA) piles of 600mm diameter down to depths of 20.4m to reach the chalk on which the piles are founded - boring through layers of fill material, sand and gravel along the way.

Phase two started at the end of February and is expected to take 12 weeks to complete.

While a Soilmec CM 50 rig was used for phase one, a larger Llamada P 150-TT was brought in for phase two - because site investigations revealed that the chalk horizon slopes along the length of the riverbank. These second phase piles are required to reach depths of up to 23.8m - 3m more than those on phase one.

May Gurney is also installing piles to support the bases of the tower cranes that will be used during construction.

Article courtesy of Contract Journal. Click here to download the full article in pdf format.