December 2008 - Halcrow

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Project profiles Celebrating excellence Virgin territory New airport to transform access to tiny Caribbean isle he Caribbean isle of Virgin Gorda may be the celeb-heavy, T sun-kissed destination of choice for moneyed souls in need of a glamorous vitamin D injection, but this tiny British Virgin Island territory had a number of air transport challenges it needed to urgently overcome. Its government – led by premier Ralph T O’Neal – enlisted Halcrow’s expertise to help its small airport – accessible by direct air services from Puerto Rico and neighbouring islands – conquer the issues of crosswinds and difficult surrounding terrain. Currently, the small community and its all important leisure market can access the island on regular ferry services from the capital, Roadtown, on Tortola Island. Tourists usually reach Virgin Gorda by air via Beef Island International Airport on Tortola, and then by ferry or sea plane, or directly from neighbouring islands. In June, Halcrow signed a contract to help the government improve the condition and safety of the airport and its air access. The team will plan, design and then supervise the construction of these improvements, bringing the facility up to international standards. Plans include an extension and surfacing of the runway, a small new terminal and apron, and improvements to security, air traffic control and general operations. Halcrow is working closely with the British Virgin Islands Airport Authority and the regulator to make sure the proposals are compliant with Twin Otter type operations. With the help of Halcrow’s office in Tampa, Florida, the team carried out extensive surveys, looking at coastal, maritime, marine ecology, environmental and geological issues. With the design expected to start before the end of this year, construction is on schedule to commence in mid 2009. Richard Branson’s Neckar Island lies just north of Virgin Gorda, testament to the stunning natural beauty of the area. So it comes as no surprise that team members were more than willing to visit this project site. Halcrow’s Chris Myers and Bill Millington at the signing ceremony in Spanish Town on 17 June with the country’s premier L to r: Halcrow’s Neal Dudley and Neil Sharpe, Proshield’s David Ashby and Graham Doig, PSI’s Bob Jarvie and Alistair Muir 14 Raising a glass to success The culmination of two years’ intensive effort by Halcrow’s Inverness-based water and power team has resulted in cleaner, safer drinking water for Scottish consumers. Tasked with improving disinfection measures – the final treatment process undertaken to prevent bacterial contamination – the team faced a demanding brief. Quality needed to be drastically improved Connections Vox | issue one | July 2008 following a series of belowpar disinfection performances across the industry. Rising to the challenge, Halcrow developed a series of sodium hypochlorite dosing skids to treat the water. After 12 months of rigorous testing and development, residents on the far-flung Shetland isle of Unst were the first of 25 communities to benefit, turning on their taps to better quality water in early 2008. Rewarded with a ‘delivering through partnership’ award from the client, Scottish Water Solutions, the team has also been chosen to design a further 100 disinfection schemes across Scotland. Planning for water New guidance on water cycle studies, coauthored in partnership with the Environment Agency, is propelling Halcrow to the forefront of sustainable water management. To meet long-term housing needs, the UK government’s house building strategy will see some 3 million new dwellings built by 2020, placing huge demands on the water cycle. Local authorities in areas of projected growth are now required to develop comprehensive studies. The UK government’s house building strategy will see 3 million new dwellings built by 2020 Working with key stakeholders to look at every facet of water supply and management, from infrastructure capacity to flood risk, the studies are paving the way for an holistic approach to urban planning. Led by Andy McConkey and Alison Mallows, Halcrow has joined forces with the Environment Agency to produce guidelines outlining the key objectives and main criteria for the studies, providing technical support to participating local authorities. Halcrow has already delivered 20 such studies and demand is projected to surge following the launch of the guidance in 2009.
Putting Swindon on the map Halcrow plugs information black hole over Wiltshire lobal positioning system (GPS) G users in the UK are now able to access more accurate data, thanks in part to Halcrow. From motorists trading in their dog-eared maps to surveyors working in the field, more of us are reliant on GPS than ever before. While most areas in the UK are within range of the Ordnance Survey’s continuously operating reference stations (CORS) network – OS Net – up until recently an information ‘black hole’ hovered over the Swindon area. This transmission gap reduced the available data’s accuracy, prompting Leica Geo- Systems – one of the world’s leading equipment manufacturers – to team up with Halcrow’s geospatial skill group. Resident pigeons at Burderop Park now have to share the roof space with a CORS. This installation will provide coverage within the Leica SmartNet Network, which in turn links to the OS Net Network. The benefits for Halcrow are manifold. In addition to free access to data and services via the station, Halcrow will be closely identified with major improvements to the network’s capabilities. Resident pigeons at Burderop Park now have to share the roof space with a CORS The next step is to incorporate the CORS into the global navigation satellite system network, which is tapped into by a diverse range of academics, surveyors, engineers and meteorologists. Applications range from measuring sea level rises to weather predictions and tracking glacial activity. The project team of Simon Canning, Chris Kelly and Paul Grant A two-pipe problem Halcrow protects lifeline to Isle of Wight The Solent – a busy stretch of water that lies between the coast of Hampshire in southern England and the Isle of Wight – presents a series of unique challenges to any self-respecting engineer. Among these is the fact it is both a busy shipping lane and yachting playground, but perhaps its most pressing conundrum lies on the seabed. Its briny floor is crisscrossed with dozens of cables and pipes – both electric and gas – with many ‘live’ and several now redundant. The most crowded section is a 3-4km stretch of the western Solent between Lepe on the mainland and Gurnard on the island in waters that run 25m deep. Despite it being illegal to both anchor and trawl in this area, there is little policing of the law. In the past few years several anchor strikes have caused severe damage and costly repairs to the cable infrastructure. Following just such Towing the mammoth pipes across the North Sea an incident, Halcrow was appointed by Southern Water in late 2004 to undertake feasibility studies, ground investigations, environmental impact assessments and designs to replace twin 200mm diameter water supply pipelines. But by then the area was designated one of special conservation status, banishing the option of trenching. The solution lay in installing twin 3.9kmlong, 300mm-diameter pipes – to allow for future demand growth – underneath the conservation zone using the latest horizontal directional drilling technology. Polyethylene pipes up to 1.2km long were towed from Norway. Other pipes were transported from Denmark by marine barge on huge spools and embedded a metre deep by water jets before being connected by divers. Completed in June 2008, the project has won an Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South East Construction Award. Thumbs up from ICE president David Orr, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers, has been given a guided tour of the new 70m lock at east London’s Prescott Lock – part of an £18 million British Waterways canal improvement scheme. Organised by Waltham Cross-based project manager Tabindah Akhtar and attended by water and power business group regional director Roland Grzybek, the presidential visit included a tour of the lock chamber and temporary cofferdam, which enabled construction of the water control structure. Controlling the water level upstream of the Prescott Channel will significantly enhance proposals to regenerate the Lower Lea Valley in time for the 2012 Olympics. L to r: Roger Martin, David Orr, Tabindah Akhtar, Mark Stephens, Roland Grzybek and Colin Perkins
Page 1 and 2: issue one: december 2008 A safe pas
Page 3 and 4: Featuring... That’ll be the Daewo
Page 5 and 6: he Busan to Geoje fixed link projec
Page 7 and 8: pink In the pink alcrow’s health
Page 9 and 10: Towering success Halcrow had cause
Page 11 and 12: P1 Water works The scale of work at
Page 13: Hydro powers India’s progress Ind
Page 17 and 18: Green flags flying high The number
Page 19 and 20: Major bypass operation N9 opens on
Page 21 and 22: STOP PRESS Halcrow wins UK Excellen
Page 23 and 24: attention on the areas of potential
Page 25 and 26: Sick and tyred quarry revived Halcr
Page 27 and 28: Full of (renewable) energy ive empl
Page 29 and 30: New milestones for Scottish transpo
Page 31 and 32: Cementing reputations As president
Page 33 and 34: “survey And our “ says… The r
Page 35 and 36: PEOPLE POWER At Halcrow’s heart a
Page 37 and 38: Two heads are better than one any a
Page 39 and 40: Act now! does it again Gaining EXPO
Page 41 and 42: L to r: Cathy Stubbs, Alison Mort,
Page 43 and 44: in 1979 Halcrow’s work in the Mid
Page 45 and 46: There was some serious monkeying ar
Page 47 and 48: Soapbox scribe In order to give the
Page 49 and 50: eople hobble down the mud tracks P
Page 51 and 52: Katherine makes a Pitt stop Katheri
Page 53 and 54: The longest day Humble marathons pa
Page 55 and 56: 9 10 11 12 13 14 9) Julia Krohn fro
Page 57 and 58: 8) Kelvin Foo from Halcrow’s Kual
Page 59 and 60: Who do you admire the most? If you

December 2008 - Halcrow

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