Time and tide

A coastal defence project completed by Team Van Oord was the subject of a feature length article in the March issue of Concrete magazine.

Team Van Oord is a joint venture between May Gurney, Van Oord UK and Mackley Construction, and the project was phase one of the new Folkstone to Rye Coastal Defence in Kent, which was completed in March 2008.

This first phase - the upgrade and rebuild of the High Knock to Dymchurch Redoubt - is part of a 16-year programme for the Environment Agency.

The work involved updating existing sea defences to provide protection to 2,500 properties lying below sea level in Dymchurch and the surrounding areas of Romney Marsh. It included the construction of 1200m of concrete seawall on top of existing defences, some 2m in front of the promenade.

The project team had to operate strictly within the vagaries of the tide, making cages as the tide went out. The team then had a five-hour low tide window in which to prepare 20m of footings, place forms and pour the seawall.

Click here to download the full article in PDF format.

Article first published in CONCRETE magazine Vol 42, No 2, March 2008. © The Concrete Society (www.concrete.org.uk)

Footnote: the scheme has also recently won a silver award in the Considerate Constructors scheme.