|
contents | business | |||||||||
| Mersey Gateway remediation approach receives widespread recognition  The Mersey Gateway – a new bridge across the river Mersey in North-West England - is one of Ramboll UK's most significant projects. Recently it won the Ground Engineering and Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) Awards.In autumn 2017 a six-lane cable-stayed tolled bridge across the Mersey Estuary between Runcorn and Widnes in North-West England will open to relieve the congested and ageing Silver Jubilee Bridge. The Mersey Gateway, as the new bridge is called, is an integral part of the local Sustainable Transport Strategy and will be a catalyst for regeneration in the area. A challenging project The 5.6 hectare site was previously an alkali works and then ICI's 'Widnes Experimental Site'. It was contaminated with chlorinated solvents at concentrations so high that 'neat' solvents were thought to be present. The remediation was a critical path item, so completion on time and prompt sign-off before the main construction works began were key expectations of HBC and the Merseylink consortium project company. Ramboll's environmental specialists worked closely with Halton Borough Council (HBC), the Client, and Celtic Technologies Ltd (specialist remediation contractor) on the 13-month clean-up of the site which will be covered by an embankment and road junction as part of the new bridge scheme. Key areas for remediation were identified through extensive investigation of likely locations of neat solvent and assessment of the cumulative concentration of chlorinated solvents plus their combined effective solubility. An innovative solution An innovative remediation system was designed to recover the solvents. This combined the efficiencies of four techniques to achieve the required balance of neat solvent recovery and groundwater treatment. In total 46 million litres of water were abstracted, treated and re-injected into the ground. Neat solvent was successfully located and removed and in total 17 tonnes of solvents were recovered. International awareness Phil Studds, Northern Environment Director in Ramboll UK, recently delivered a case study on the project to an audience of regulators, developers, contractors and consultants. He presented the case study entitled Mersey Gateway: An Integrated Approach to the Management of Contaminated Land at the Third Annual Joint Northern Fora Summer Conference. The event, which took place at Bolton University, was organised by the North West Brownfield Regeneration (NWBR) Forum. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Construction News :: home page |