Case Studies

The Limerick Tunnel is a €570 million public-private partnership scheme for the Irish Republic’s National Roads Authority. Designed to carry four lanes of traffic under the River Shannon, it forms the centrepiece of a major by-pass project for the city. The tunnel is an immersed tube design measuring 675m in length. The tube consists of two bores, one each for southbound and northbound traffic and each one comprising two lanes with emergency walkways on each side.

Sager Construction, the building arm of London-based property developer Sager Group, is building a multi-million pound five-storey mixed use development on Fortune Green Road, Hampstead, London. Space is very restricted on the site and so a two-storey basement is being constructed to accommodate an underground car park. The £4.5M groundworks package commenced in November 2006.

MPB Structures Ltd, working as specialist contractor to Downing Developments, are constructing a new residential complex which will include 123 luxury apartments over twelve stories. The development at Hatton Gardens, Liverpool, which will be known as Eden Square, includes a four storey basement car park due to the limited space available in this densely packed city centre location.

Groundforce Shorco have provided a unique ground support solution to Barhale Construction for a flood alleviation scheme in Gloucester. The Midland Road scheme forms part of Severn Trent’s AMP4 sewerage infrastructure programme and involves installing approximately 200m of twin 2.8m diameter, high density polyethylene pipes in an 8m wide x 6.5m deep trench. The pipeline forms temporary underground storage for storm water run-off. During storms water passes into the storage tank via a series of manifold chambers before being channelled back into the existing sewer network as the storm flows subside.

The site of the former Monsall Hospital in Manchester is being developed into a state of the art IT Business Park by contractor Balfour Beatty/Bilfinger Berger for Manchester City Council. This development is incorporated in the existing planned extension of the Metrolink transportation system and as a result there was a requirement for a station concourse, the roof of which was designed as a landmark cable-stayed canopy structure. To assist in the connection and stressing of the canopy cable stays, a novel and innovative solution was proposed by the contractor using Groundforce Shorco large capacity hydraulic struts to lift and subsequently lower the structure en masse.

Main contractor Kier North West is building a new Waitrose store on a congested site in the centre of Cheadle, Greater Manchester. Because of the limited space available, the goods yard behind the store is very narrow and space is at a premium.