Boskalis Continues Work on Cowes Breakwater

Boskalis Westminster is continuing works on the £7 million worth new breakwater for Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

The company plan was to return to the site on October 6th and resume works for the next two weeks, reshaping the breakwater core by using gravel stored on the breakwater sides; this will be achieved using an excavator and a floating spud-legged barge.

A consolidation period of eight months will then follow over the winter to allow settlement along the breakwater footprint and strength increase of the subsoil. The placement of rock armor and reshaping of the breakwater to its final profile will take place in 2015.

The past month has seen CHC’s (Cowes Harbor Commission) contractors Boskalis Westminster complete installation of the gravel pre-load on the new breakwater as scheduled, having deposited a total of 51,000m3 to bring the crest of the gravel core up to between 3.7 and 4.4 meters above chart datum.

Five settlement beacons were also installed on the breakwater for on-going monitoring during a four to six week initial resting period prior to the gravel pre-load being reshaped up to 5.0m above chart datum this autumn; the settlement beacons will remain in place until spring 2015.

The breakwater is now marked with five yellow lights on the gravel core itself, as well as two additional buoys marking the western and eastern ends of the breakwater.

Tidal flow modeling carried out before construction of the breakwater predicted certain changes to the tidal rates and directions within the harbor. Further detailed tidal flow monitoring will be carried out in November to ascertain precise flow rates and directions.

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Press Release, October 6, 2014