Sea defences gather pace

The civil engineering contractor has told Maritime Journal that it has now completed eight of the 23 rock groynes it is building as part of a £2.2m sub-contract for the Clacton to Holland-on-Sea Coast Protection Scheme.

The North Wales-based company will resume work on the project mid-way through March to help to ensure it is not hampered by severe weather, constructing a further 15 groynes.

A one and a half kilometre section of the five-kilometre beach is due to be re-opened to the public with work currently underway to reinstate sand and shingle.

Jones Bros is operating as a sub-contractor to principal contractor for the works VBA Joint Venture. Tendring District Council is the client and contracting authority, with Essex County Council and the Environment Agency operating as funding partners. Mott MacDonald is the coastal protection scheme’s project manager.

The £36m coastal protection scheme requires approximately 300,000 tonnes of rock to construct the groynes and will protect more than 3,000 properties from sea erosion, with Jones Bros’ work scheduled to last until Autumn 2015.

In order to meet the demands of the challenging scheme, Jones Bros is utilising the latest GPS technology and working around local tidal tables.

The Trimble GCS900 GPS system, which allows accurate control of buckets and blades to within 20mm, allows Jones Bros’ plant operatives to accurately install the rock groynes in water up to 150cm in depth.

Founded in the 1950s, Jones Bros employs approximately 300 people. It operates across the UK in sectors including construction of waste management facilities, highways and renewable energy projects such as wind farms. The company was awarded a Considerate Constructors National Site Award and the ICE Wales Outstanding Project of the Year Award for its work on the Tywyn Coastal Defence Scheme.

By Jake Frith