Constructex have completed harbour repair works to Portknockie and Burghead on behalf of Moray Council. The works at Burghead included pile jacketing repairs to the outer pier head, sheet pile wall plating to a degraded section of structure subject to impact damage. Submerged bag-work concrete repairs and concrete cope and wall patch repair. The works at Portknockie were more substantial and involved the refacing of a 65metre section of existing degraded harbour wall with a new 400mm concrete face and scour protection footing. New galvanised ladders and handrails were installed compliant with BS6349.

Constructex deployed their in-house HSE surface supplied diving teams and vessels to support the works. Mini-cranes and low ground pressure excavators were used to facilitate access and mitigate the risk of overloading the historic structures.

Temporary works and scour footing design was carried out in house by Chartered civil and structural Engineers. The significant advantage of in-house design capability was recognised by the client as multiple design and methodology changes were required during the contract due to uncertain ground  and existing structure conditions. These were able to be pragmatically dealt with by the Constructex team without compromising on buildability and quality of the final design.

Works were heavily disrupted by Brexit related supply shortages and Covid-19 restrictions. The original programme had to be significantly extended. In order to mitigate some programme impacts, elements of the work were completed in the winter months despite significant wave climate and weather risks which necessitated careful planning.

Now fully completed, the repairs will ensure the continued use of the harbours by commercial and recreational users for many years to come.