Associated British Ports has announced the commencement of construction work to repair Swansea West Pier, which plays an important part in preventing coastal erosion in the City of Swansea.
Located near to the Tawe Barrage in Swansea Bay and owned by ABP, the pier suffered structural damage by adverse weather and storms in recent years. The inner section of the pier provides wave protection to the navigation channel and the Tawe Barrage. It also holds the beach area to the west of the pier in its current position.
Construction work will include the building of a new retaining wall to support the existing pier structure and was preceded by a range of engineering and environmental surveys to ensure that disturbance to the marine and operational environment will be minimised. As part of this, an important goal was to also make sure that work is organised in a way that will help protect the safe navigation of vessels.
Leo Martin, Managing Director of Graham’s Civil Engineering division, said: “We’re delighted to have commenced works on site at Swansea West Pier. The project will build on our strong existing partnership with ABP, who have been a key client for us over many years of working on complex maritime projects. The new retaining wall we are constructing is the result of our solution led approach to engineering challenges and has been specially developed to accommodate working within a tidal environment.
By Jake Frith
