Monitoring on the Woolwich Ferry Berth Upgrade | UK

The challenge

The introduction of low-energy car ferries with increased capacity required the construction of new marine terminals on the banks of the River Thames. Construction works included heavy piling into the river bed.

However, with the Woolwich Foot Tunnel located just 2 meters from the nearest pile, extreme care was needed to avoid damaging the tunnel. Operation of both the ferry and the pedestrian tunnel had to be maintained throughout the works.

Therefore construction took place during the night and works had to be carefully managed to minimise noise impacts.

Our role

As a specialist noise and vibration contractor, we provided expert consultancy from the early stages. Our services included:

• Development of a tunnel monitoring method statement in agreement with the local planning authority and the asset owner.

• Continuous real-time vibration monitoring inside the tunnel for 15 weeks.

• Construction noise management: baseline noise monitoring prior to works, noise impact modelling, obtaining Section 61 consent, noise mitigation solutions and construction noise monitoring.

Our added value

Our highly experienced asset monitoring team alongside our acoustic consultants devised a value-engineered solution to ensure the monitoring specification was met and the public could use the tunnel without touching the monitoring equipment.

The outcome was a secure monitoring system, continuous real-time data for 15 weeks and a significant project saving.