A project at the Caladh Mor ferry terminal in Inish Meain, one of the Aran islands, which used Xbloc armoured units has won the latest Irish Concrete Society Award.
The jury for the award said it believed that the project ‘demonstrates how in adverse conditions raw materials can be excavated, reconstituted with the addition of cement to form concrete elements and reassembled in the same place in a way that absorbs the forces of nature and provides a welcome place of refuge and safety.’
The client for the project was Galway County Council and the project engineer was RPS Consulting Engineers. The contractor was SIAC Construction, and Cairealacht Chill-Bhride Teo acted as major supplier for the project.
The Aran islands are on the west coast of Ireland. The existing ferry pier at Caladh Mor was exposed to high wave conditions, so the pier has been extended, and two breakwaters have been built to provide wave protection. The breakwater was armoured using Xbloc armour units that were cast on site by Concrete Inis Meain. The breakwaters are 200m long and 4.5m high and were armoured using 4m3 Xblocs.
