Geotechnical
Specialists
Bachy Soletanche holds back the Waterfront for a Carlow project in Ireland
Leading geotechnical specialist, Bachy Soletanche Limited (BSL)
has completed piling work for a €15million Waterfront office
development at the heart of Carlow – one of Ireland’s fastest
growing towns. The project involved the construction of a bored
pile secant wall; one of the first in the locality whilst
programming work around a simultaneous re-routing of the sewer
system took place. The sewer line was located directly
underneath the site and although piling would not usually begin
until the sewer had been re-routed, careful and innovative
project programming meant that both projects could continue
simultaneously.
Ged Neary, general manager for Ireland at Bachy Soletanche
explained:
“We were approached by our client, Quinn Reddin Limited (QRL),
a Carlow based development and building contracting company, to
provide piling works for the construction of a secant wall
design on their development – but as we neared completion of the
piling guide wall, the diversion and removal of the main sewer
line, running directly through the project site had not been
completed due to unconnected factors. This meant the sewer line
had to be re-directed whilst piling progressed in limited
unaffected accessible areas, in order to prevent project delays
which could have extended to several weeks.”
“Due to the tight completion deadlines, BSL & QRL developed a
programme to work around the sewer diversion works. This allowed
the piling element of the project to be completed only a couple
of days behind the original schedule, rather than delay the
project for a month or so as initially envisaged.” He added.
The site for the office development is in a very scenic
location, nestled between the River Barrow and the remains of
Carlow Castle. Only fifty miles away from Dublin, Carlow has
become a popular commuter hotspot; and the attractive town is
now encouraging businesses into the area with the construction
of the soon-to-be-completed Waterfront offices.
The secant wall installed by BSL provides the core framework for
the construction of an underground parking facility that was
integral to the overall project. Ged Neary commented:
“The original design incorporated a low single storey
basement but the design was later adjusted to increase the
basement depth. As BSL’s in-house design team had provided the
original pile design, adjustments were able to be made
relatively quickly and easily, with no real impact on the
construction programme.”
“Once the final amendments were approved, the piling work for
the secant wall could then begin.” He added.
In a contract valued at around €350,000, BSL used the Continuous
Flight Auger (CFA) piling method to construct the hard/firm
secant wall within an eight-week schedule. A BG-18, high torque
CFA rig was used to construct 426 CFA piles, each with a 600mm
diameter. The piles were bored to a depth range of 7-9 metres,
providing the core structure for the basement walls whilst
cutting off groundwater ingress into the basement excavation.
Ged Neary added:
“Although we faced some unusual programming challenges during
the two-month project, – BSL completed the works safely and
on-schedule, allowing the remaining construction works to begin
successfully and as planned, in a dry riverside underground
environment.”
Email:
fiona@manifestcomms.co.uk