"Responsible for navigational safety in one of the busiest and most popular recreational harbours in the country, the River Hamble Harbour Authority’s major jetty facility is next to the Harbour Office at Warsash," writes Jason Scott, Harbour Master of the River Hamble. "Like most, we aim to plan as far ahead as we can to make best use of capital resources and keep the need for increases in harbour dues to a minimum.
"With an important bridge structure needing repairs to supporting piles, the Harbour Authority approached a number of contractors to explore different repair options. The challenge ultimately was how to generate working access to the ten supporting piles without removing the bridge above, which was in good repair. This was an unusual brief. James Walters’ professional knowledge, engineering experience and confidence in the expertise of his superb team were telling.
"His proposal involved an imaginative solution; jacking up consecutive sections of the bridge using a temporary beam while cutting away wooden timbers to expose the old piles. This allowed the re-sleeving of the existing piles in 18mm steel before capping and the welding of newly fabricated steel crossheads. Moving the beam incrementally allowed each of the five pairs of two to be re-sleeved in turn.
"The result is effectively a new bridge with a lifespan we believe of around another 50 years for a fraction of the cost of a new structure."
Other recent jetty projects by Walcon Marine include the replacement of a 90-metre jetty for a private client and a private tender jetty within Hythe Marina Village.