Saltire Awards for Civil Engineering 2015 Nominee
An ambitious Community project which MIB were proud to deliver on time and within budget. The Lochboisdale Harbour Regeneration transformed an uninhabited island into a commercial harbour and marina.
The main scope of works included;
• Shipping of plant, materials and temporary welfare accommodation to Gasaigh Island to allow peat stripping to begin. Personnel were also transported by boat on a daily basis to carry out these works.
• The construction of 2no causeways to link the existing Lochboisdale Harbour to the small island of Gasaigh Island via the Rubha Bhuailt Peninsula.
• Hydraulic rock breaking and rock blasting.
• Dredging the seabed to prepare it for core material and rock to create the causeway.
• Dredging between Gasaigh Island and Rubha Bhuailt to remove sand/silt to enable MIB to commence infill for the second causeway with filter and armour.
• Building a temporary haul road between Rubha Bhuailt and Gasaigh Island – this was later built up as the second causeway.
• The construction of both east and west breakwaters at Gasaigh Island.
• The construction of a new pier and slipway with pontoon berths on Gasaigh Island.
• Sheet piling being placed in the harbour area.
• Installation of services and utilities. Road tarring and markings were subcontracted.
This ambitious, community driven project was channeled as much as possible through local workforce, subcontractors and suppliers when possible. Controlled site visits were arranged for members of the public and children from the local primary school had the opportunity to attend site and see first-hand the progress of the project. Regular newsletters and newspaper adverts also kept local residents and the local community as updated and involved as possible with the construction as a whole.
For the rock blasting elements, explosives were required to be helicoptered to the island of South Uist and these were then stored in a magazine on site. Pleasant weather conditions were vital in the transportation of the explosives as cancellations will occur after certain wind speeds/visibility levels etc.
Peat management on this contract was a primary concern as 30,000m3 was to be relocated and used for landscaping etc. under a strict environmental and peat management plan which was supplied by MacInnes Bros Ltd for approval by all stakeholders.&
