Summary

The ambitious Northern Spire Bridge is the latest project in the ongoing rejuvenation of Sunderland. At over £117 million, it’s one of the region’s largest civil engineering projects in recent history. Farrans contacted ATG Group for a solution to contamination found during initial construction.

The Challenge

The riverbed required dredging to allow works for the bridge’s deep foundations to begin. The initial plan was to:

  1. Dredge the sediments out of the river
  2. Transfer the material into a constructed bund
  3. Transfer the material into trucks to be taken to landfill

With dredging underway, the excavated material was found to be more contaminated than originally expected. As a result, the Environment Agency found the plans to manage it unacceptable. This meant that works had to be stopped.

Farrans contacted ATG Group to come up with a new method that was acceptable to the Environment Agency and would get the works started again.

The Solution

We created a tailored plan to manage the hazardous dredge which met the Environment Agency’s expectations. It was also cost-effective for Farrans.

Our plan involved:

  1. Stockpiling the dredge materials within a lined bund to lower the water content
  2. Once safe, transport the material to a hazardous waste treatment facility
  3. After treatment, the materials were reused for landfill capping