December 2008 - Halcrow

P1 Water works
The scale of work at Yas Island is immense.
Providing water and sewage connections for a
resident population of 110,000 – and up to 300,000
daily visitors at peak times – requires some
seriously sophisticated coordination.
P2 Marvellous marinas
The team must understand and meet the water
requirements for over 20 hotels, an ever-growing
shopping mall, theme parks, a race track and
countless villas and apartments.
Halcrow has devised one of the largest underground
water tanks in the world to provide the island with
sufficient water storage. Working with Halcrow’s
design centre in Pakistan, engineers were able to
complete this aspect in good time.
The cofferdam stretches the
length of the marina entrance
The six marinas are an integral aspect of Yas Island’s
infrastructure – they are currently supervised by
long-time marine veteran Richard Wardropper.
With a five-star hotel at its core, the race track
marina can house 122 yachts at the centre of the
F1 track. “The race track marina has been a daily
challenge,” says Richard. “All work must be done in
dry conditions. Just keeping the water out has been
a daunting task.”
As the base of the race track marina is 6m below
sea-level, engineers had to construct a cut-off dam
to protect against leaks. The team came up with the
solution of a cofferdam that stretches the length of
the marina entrance and reaches to a depth of 18m,
where it is embedded into the bed rock.
Richard Wardropper and David Connolly by the Royal Yas Marina
and the evolving marina hotel
P4 Freeway to the future
In a separate concurrent project, Aldar has
appointed Halcrow to design and supervise the
construction of the dual five-lane Shahama to
Saadiyat Freeway that traverses Yas Island.
The freeway will provide vehicular access to the
island for the majority of residents and visitors
coming from Abu Dhabi, Dubai and further afield.
P3 Total transport solutions
Halcrow’s transportation experts are working on
a dual three-lane underwater tunnel to the south
of the island.
According to project manager David Connolly, the
tunnel was a late addition to the island as plans for
a bridge were scrapped to provide an unobstructed
route into the marina for the mega-yachts of the rich
and famous.
Yas Island’s new transport network includes 30
signal junctions, as well as bus, tram, cycle and
pedestrian facilities.
Yas Island is a defining feature of this project.
“We have to work as a team,” he says. “The
one-team approach is evident throughout
Yas Island – it allows us
to tackle changes and
stay on top of client
requirements.”
The head of Aldar’s
infrastructure
works, Lee
Kandalaft, shares
this ideology. In fact,
his office is only a few
doors down from David’s,
allowing him day-to-day involvement in the
project, managing all infrastructure and
The project’s scope
includes six marinas,
numerous bridges,
eight-lane highways and
all the major utilities
for the island
logistics work on-site. “We take pride in being
involved,” said Lee.
Maintaining a tight
schedule and long
hours, Halcrow’s
team has managed
to design and
build Yas Island’s
infrastructure
simultaneously.
“Revisions, changes
and late additions
were always going to
be part of this island’s
development,” says David. “We like to look at
it as the interactive management of change.”
One of Yas Island’s signalised junctions
Whatever you call it, it’s a phenomenal
achievement. And with the 1 November 2009
F1 debut looming large, it’s all hands to the
pump for David and the team.