The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD today attended the contract signing for the remediation of ‘Haulbowline Island Bridges’ a key infrastructureal component of the remediation project for the former steelworks site on Haulbowline Island.
Commenting at the signing today, the Minister said “this major contract to carry out the necessary repairs and remediation of the Haulbowline Island Bridge is a key infrastructural element of the remediation project. Repairs to the bridge will facilitate the transportation of the potentially large volumes of construction materials which may be brought to the Island by road. I welcome the decision by An Bord Pleanala to grant planning permission for the remediation of the East Tip and eagerly await the EPA decision on the application for a waste licence. The project is now entering an exciting phase where the hard work that has been going on behind the scenes will now lead to construction activity on the island”.
Cork County Council is acting as agent of the Minister in the remediation of Haulbowline Island. The contract valued at €1.85m is being awarded by Cork County Council to L&M Keating Ltd. and is for an extensive repair and remediation of the existing bridge access to the Island. The work which will extensively upgrade the current bridge infrastructure will address the significant infrastructural access demands involved in carrying out the remediation of Haulbowline while facilitating the future development of the Island and surrounding areas in the longer term.
A planning application for works on the East Tip of Haulbowline was lodged with An Bord Pleanála on 30th October 2013 and the waste licence application was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency on 14th November 2013.
An Bord Pleanala held a public hearing on the application on 19th March 2014 and the Bord granted planning permission for the remediation by decision dated 1st May 2014. A decision from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the application to grant a waste licence is expected in the coming weeks.
Note for Editors
Cork County Council, on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is currently managing the regularisation and remediation of the East Tip on Haulbowline Island in Co. Cork. Haulbowline Island is located within Cork Harbour, between Cobh to the north and Ringaskiddy to the south, and the East Tip contains approximately 650,000m3 of steelworks waste that was deposited on a sand spit over a 40 year period. Access to the Island by road is from Ringaskiddy via bridges which transverse Rocky Island. The bridges comprise prestressed concrete beams and composite slabs on reinforced concrete piers and abutments incorporating half-joints and suspended reinforced concrete spans.
Given the potentially large volumes of construction materials which may be brought to the Island by road during the remediation works it was necessary to access the suitably of the haulage route. To this end an Inventory and Principal Inspection Report was completed on the bridges by RPS Group with the findings interpreted and presented in an Assessment Report. On foot of these findings a Post Tension Special Inspection (PSTI) was completed which confirmed the findings of the previous desk study reports and detailed the works necessary to remediate the bridge. In line with recommendations a weight restriction of 25 tonne was immediately imposed and remains in place pending completion of the remediation work on the bridges. The scope of works contained in the contract to be signed for the remediation of Haulbowline Bridges includes the remediation of two reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour. The Southern Channel Bridge comprises 9 spans and is approximately 207m long. The Northern Channel Bridge comprises 8 spans and is approximately 146m long. Both bridges are of similar construction. The Works include, inter alia, replacement of surfacing, street lighting, drainage, safety barriers, parapets and expansion joints, bridge deck waterproofing, temporary relocation and permanent reinstatement of existing utilities, provision of new services, provision of new bridge bearings requiring the jacking of bridge spans and making entry through reinforced concrete curtain walls, extensive concrete repair, and ancillary work associated with road and bridge construction.