Protect households from flooding
The Ipswich Tidal Barrier storm surge barrier on the UK’s east coast, part of the Ipswich Flood Defense Scheme, will protect some 1,600 homes and 400 businesses in the Ipswich area from flooding during extreme water levels over the next 100 years. The entire project involves an investment of 67.4 million British pounds, making it the largest investment that Ipswich has made in the past 20 years.
Scope Hollandia
The VBA consortium, Volker Stevin – Boskalis Westminster Ltd – Atkins, has been awarded the contract for the construction of the protection works for the seaport area, consisting of quay walls, retaining devices for the harbor and estuary and the associated control building. VBA provided the design for the RSG, Hollandia Infra was asked as a consultant to contribute Dutch knowledge and skills to the design process. Hollandia UK carried out for Hollandia Infra the Site Installation of the Flood Barrier at Ipswich, the site installation of mainpivots and further items in preparation of the installation of the complete flood defence barrier, constructed at Hollandia Infra, shipped across on a seagoing barge and lifted from the Barge directly in position by a 1200t land based crane.
Scope Hollandia UK
Hollandia UK carried out for Hollandia Infra the Site Installation of the Flood Barrier at Ipswich, the site installation of mainpivots and further items in preparation of the installation of the complete flood defence barrier.
Rising Sector Gate
The Rising Sector Gate is a water barrier consisting of a semicircular door that rotates vertically on its axis. This door is usually located downwards – in a recess in the concrete river bed – so that shipping has free passage. When there is a threat of high water, this door turns 90 degrees upwards from the bottom on 2 arms and thus blocks the passage. Hollandia Infra has converted the design of this 192-ton barrier into workshop drawings. The radial door is 23 meters wide and has a 9 meter retaining height and a maximum internal height of 1.9 meters.
Steel door frames
In addition to the door construction with pivot points, Hollandia also produced the semicircular steel door frames that were poured into the concrete of the quay wall by the main contractor within the tight tolerance. The active rubber sealing profiles ensure that the door construction is closed within these frames. In November 2017, the entire construction was transported from Krimpen aan den IJssel to Ipswich by pontoon and installed in the passage with a 600-tonne crawler crane. A nice movie was made of this, which you can watch here.
The Ipswich Tidal Barrier was officially opened on Friday 8 February 2019. The opening ceremony was attended by various representatives of the local authorities with the compliments for the “Dutch steel builders of Hollandia”.
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