Following Storm Barra, on 7 December, things have been moving quickly to make Ardbeg Road safe after damage to the sea wall.
The following day, council engineers and operatives were on site carrying out an initial assessment, organising traffic management and clearing the road of debris.
By 9 December our team, working with contractors, arranged to carry out emergency, temporary repairs after conducting drone surveys to understand the extent of the damage.
By the weekend, the work undertaken included:
- Ground excavation to create a solid foundation for temporary walls made from concrete ‘legato’ blocks. This wall provides protection for the sea wall and the utilities exposed as a result of the damage.
- Filling the biggest gaps in the wall with temporary materials such as sand bags to provide additional protection that can be removed easily when full repairs are made.
- Utility companies checking and assessing their infrastructure.
- Clearing existing drainage pipes and gullies
- Fill being placed in the gap between two walls, which would give the sea wall more stability, while allowing for drainage.
- Shotcrete being placed in smaller gaps
Work continues and by Christmas we expect to have a robust temporary repair in place that will allow us to beginning planning a permanent repair to the damage.
Video footage of the work going on courtesy of Geo-Rope.