Scottish Civil Engineering Awards 2019

Thanks to everyone who submitted entries for the 2019 Scottish Civil Engineering Awards, celebrating outstanding civil engineering achievement, innovation and ingenuity in Scotland

Congratulations to all 2019 winners!

Photography from the Awards Ceremony can be viewed and downloaded here

All video clips can be downloaded from CECA Scotland’s Youtube channel.

 

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2. A83 Strone Point Road Improvement Works

The A83 is a strategically important route serving Argyll and Bute and beyond. At Strone Point the road is single carriageway sandwiched between Loch Shira and a steep hillside. The road is a series of tight bends of different radii and has a history of serious and fatal accidents. The site is extremely space constrained.

The aim of the project was to deliver the necessary road safety improvements in an environmentally and aesthetically acceptable way within an available budget of £1.6m. The engineering solution was to create a single radius curved road alignment over some 370 metres with associated improvements to drainage, surfacing and signage. This necessitated widening the road corridor by up to 7 metres. To achieve this it was necessary to cut into the hillside which had challenging ground conditions and topography and install an engineered composite soil-rock slope.

As closure of the road would necessitate a diversion of around 60 miles it was necessary to ensure the road remained open to traffic during construction and to time work to avoid disruption to tourist traffic during the summer season.

3. A9 Dualling Kincraig to Dalraddy

The £35million A9 Dualling: Kincraig to Dalraddy project was the first section of the A9 to be dualled as part of the ambitious £3bn A9 Dualling Programme.  Designed to deliver economic growth through improved road safety and reliable and quicker journey times, as well as better links to pedestrian, cycling and public transport facilities, the project introduces 7.5km of dual carriageway into what was the longest single carriageway section of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

Eight sub-contracts worth a total of £1.4m were awarded to local businesses and at its peak the site employed 168 people, many living within the local area, boosting the revenue of the local amenities such as shops, accommodation and leisure The project delivered significant improvements to the local primary school including providing a climbing wall, an all-weather playing pitch and a fence which has allowed the school to hold an outdoor class when the weather permits and the Contractor engaged regularly with the primary school throughout construction. The project sits within the Cairngorms National Park and contains a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and goes through an area of Ancient Woodland.

4. Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route

The Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route / Balmedie to Tipperty is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Scotland.  A major element of the Scottish Government’s commitments to improving travel in the north east, the new road is a 58km long dual carriageway with 2 major river bridges, a main line rail bridge,12 junctions and around 100 other structures. It consists of 4 sections: Balmedie to Tipperty: 12km from Blackdog to Tipperty,  Northern leg: 16.1km North Kingswells to Blackdog, Southern leg: 18.7km from Charleston to North Kingswells and Fastlink: 11.5km from Stonehaven to Cleanhill. In addition, there are around 70km of new side and access roads.

This ambitious project, which was estimated to cost £745 million, has been completed on budget.

5. Fort Augustus and Kytra Lock Gate Replacement

Fort Augustus is a key part of Scottish Canal’s waterway infrastructure on the Caledonian Canal between Loch Oich and Loch Ness, which includes Lock structures at Cullochy, Kytra and Fort Augustus.

This project involved the replacement of the lock gates at Kytra lock and one of the Fort Augustus locks on the Caledonian Canal, which stretches from Cullochy Lock to Loch Ness. The Canal is a major tourist attraction in the Highlands, delivering £7.5m per annum direct and indirect economic outturn to the economy. One of Scotland’s most visited destinations, the canal carries 1500 boats every year.

The successful completion of the project ensured that the Caledonian Canal was reopened on time for the 2019 season and fully open and operational for the 2020 Year of Coasts and Waters celebration, of which the Caledonian Canal is a key feature.

6. Gardenstown Landslide

On 28 November 2017, a landslide occurred in the village of Gardenstown blocking the B9123 Harbour Road, causing major disruption to the local community. The road provides essential access for residents and businesses, including an operational harbour vital to the local economy.

With no option for a diversion, Aberdeenshire Council reacted immediately to clear the debris and erect a blockwork wall at the toe of the landslide which provided temporary protection; enabling the road to be partially reopened pending further inspection. An important aspect of the scheme was to keep Harbour Road open as far as possible during the development and implementation of the stabilisation measures.

Complex geological challenges, groundwater conditions plus Health & Safety risks of working in an emerging landslide environment posed significant challenges to the team but they successfully delivered the stabilisation works by continually adapting working methods throughout the project.

Approximately 230 tonnes of debris were removed from the road, with a further 20 tonnes scaled from the landslide. During the works, the road was controlled using traffic lights and vibration monitors to detect slope movement. The works were completed in June 2018, enabling permanent, unrestricted use of the road.

7. Inverurie WwTW

Inverurie Waste Water treatment works provides sewage treatment for Inverurie and the surrounding area, serving a population of 28,000.

The design and construction of a £22m waste water treatment works piloted for first time in Scotland innovative NEREDA® biological treatment technology to reduce the footprint of the works and save energy over its lifetime whilst proofing the works for future population growth and against flooding events to which the previous works were vulnerable.

The project was delivered to time and budget and a high quality standard by the Efficient Service Delivery (ESD) alliance and its sub-contractors utilising leading digital construction technologies in a common data environment across the team. With a particular focus on community engagement, a wide range of activities took place throughout the project. This included working with local schools and communities to raise awareness of how everyone can play their part to help keep the water cycle running smoothly. The project has been awarded the Scottish Water Vision Award 2018 and the Galliford Try Excellence Award 2019

8. Kerse Road Bridge Stirling

The Kerse Road Bridge project was integral to the transformative Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa electrification project, enabling faster and greener electric trains on to the Central Scotland rail network.

Kerse Road Bridge, which sits over the railway line, is one of the main arterial routes into the City Centre, yet had insufficient height clearance to accommodate the installation of new overhead line equipment. The bridge carries 22,000 vehicle movements per day and is surrounded by a number of local businesses and residential properties. Following the completion of utility works, a full road closure with an all-vehicle diversion was implemented in April 2018. Over the course of two demolition weekends, each comprising of 29 hrs continuous working, 100 operatives worked 2,000 staff hours to remove 10,000 tonnes of material, including the removal of 26tn girders from the old bridge using a 500tn crane.

Network Rail and Morgan Sindall worked together to reduce the full closure from 12 months to six months in an effort to safeguard the busy Christmas trading period for businesses within Stirling. Kerse Road fully re-opened on Friday 19th October 2018.

9. Kyleakin Feed Mill Marine Works

The re-construction of an existing quay, built in the 1970s at the former Kyleakin quarry, allows MOWI to distribute processed materials by ship from their new fish feed mill plant on Skye, to fish farms across Western Europe.  Due to the site being located alongside a Marine Protected Area, significant modelling work and environmental mitigation were undertaken to support the Environmental Impact Assessment.

The new Fish Feed  Mill in Kyleakin is now operational, importing raw materials and exporting finished product almost entirely by sea, following the completion of a new  marine facility capable of loading and taking vessels for both functions. The project involved designing and constructing the new facility around an old existing sheet piled jetty, with materials either sourced locally or brought in by sea and was undertaken in an environmentally sensitive area, with the footprint of the works restricted by a Special Area of Conservation, due to flame shell beds just offshore.

Throughout the project was delivered to a tight timescale driven by industrial needs, the driven team of client, designer, and contractor on progress and budget, and the reuse of existing caissons from Dublin, saving cost, cost, time and CO2 footprint.

10. Lochmaddy Water Treatment Works

Scottish Water and Ross Shire Engineering have collaboratively designed and delivered a comprehensive upgrade to the drinking water network on the Isle of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.  The Lochmaddy Water Treatment Works is Ross-shire Engineering’s largest Transportable Treatment Unit (TTU) built to date – housed within a two-storey building and consisting of 16 No. modular units.

At 870 m2 this represents the largest transportable off-site built modular water treatment works ever delivered anywhere in the UK. The modular units were transported to the island in 17 shipments. A traditional site build would have necessitated in excess of 100 ferry loads of materials. The new Treatment works is remotely monitored around the clock from Scottish Waters state of the art Intelligent Control Centre in Glasgow, some 160 miles away.

Blasted rock, created by site clearance, was used as road base, saving the project approximately £2.m. The collective Project Team challenged the original scope of works, identifying and exploiting numerous Value Engineering opportunities to deliver £1Om capital savings, programme savings of around 40%, reduced operational costs, risk and environmental and community impact.

The modular nature of the construction also provides future proofing of the facility, allowing the capacity to be modified to meet changing demand. This even extends to the possibility relocating the entire treatment works to another site on the island or elsewhere in Scotland should it be required in the years to come thus contributing to a culture of reuse and “no redundant” assets.

11. Perth Transport Futures Project Phase 1

The PTFP is an integrated series of infrastructure projects which will be delivered over four phases to enable sustainable economic growth in Perth and the surrounding area.

It will unlock land for development, help address air quality issues and facilitate greater use of sustainable and active transport modes in Perth.  Valued at £35m, PTFP Phase 1 consists of a new grade separated junction on the A9; a link road to Bertha Park; realignment of the boundary and the construction of a car park for the crematorium; a new access to Inveralmond Industrial Estate and new and improved cycling and pedestrian links.

The project has operated with a firm focus on meaningful and innovative community benefits across the full spectrum of the community of Perth and Kinross including supporting recent prison leavers with work placements and pathways to employment, engaging with over 2,600 school students through 58 individual events and supporting local sports organisations.

Throughout, the project team have worked hard to minimise carbon footprint, building environmental sustainability into the core of the construction process.

12. Roundknowe Carbon Fibre Wrap

Located within the grounds of Calderbrae Golf Course, the Roundknowe Carbon Fibre Wrap project sets a precedence for pipeline rehabilitation in the future, providing an innovative solution to rehabilitate above ground sewers and pipe bridges nearing the end of their design life.

Nearly two years of design went into developing the Carbon Fibre solution exclusively for Scottish Water. Carbon Fibre Wrapping’s ground-breaking introduction to the water Industry is a massive benefit to Scotland, allowing the rehabilitation of an ageing infrastructure, at a reduced cost, in turn enabling further investment in other capital programmes.

Carbon Fibre Wrapping creates a fully new structural pipe and can be applied to any pipe of any shape or size and looks set to be central to Scottish Water’s commitment to protect the environment and seek positive innovation for the future.

Taking into consideration the sheer size of the current infrastructure requiring to be rehabilitated, the future savings to the Scottish people are immense. The innovation will set the precedence for pipeline rehabilitation going forward. Future benefits are not only limited to financial gains, with the role out of this innovation it offers the chance for young Scots to develop and learn new skill sets, creating more jobs and benefiting the Scottish economy.

13. Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa Electrification Project

Working collaboratively with client Network Rail – Costain, Morgan Sindall and Siemens successfully delivered the £300m Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa (SDA) Electrification Project, which forms part of wider Scottish Government investment in central Scotland’s railway infrastructure, enabling longer, faster and greener electric trains on to the network.

The project allowed ScotRail to achieve a journey time improvement of 10 minutes between Edinburgh and Glasgow, now taking 42 minutes and also a five-minute journey time improvement on Glasgow/Edinburgh to Dunblane. This coupled with additional carriages on the new EMUs provided a capacity increase of 20,000 seats per day.

Throughout delivery of the SDA programme, numerous procedural and process innovations were initiated to improve the quality of the information being provided and shared between the client and contractors. This allowed mature and informative discussions which further enhanced the collaborative behaviours of the project.

Early project logistical planning by each contractor allowed efficiency opportunities to be identified, with Network Rail able to assess these benefits against the disruption normally caused by major enhancements and where appropriate, these were taken forward in a collaborative manner with ScotRail to ensure the SDA works caused the minimum disruption to the travelling public.

On 9 December 2018, the first passenger service operated by the Hitachi 385 fleet ran to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa, offering greener, more sustainable travel options in the central belt.

14. Stronelairg and Melgarve Substations

The Stronelairg and Melgarve Substations project involved the construction of two substations, in one of the most challenging locations in the Scottish Highlands, aimed at connecting Stonelairg wind farm to the 400KV Beauly Denny line and into the National Grid.

With planning consent for the project delayed by over a year, it was a major challenge to connect the (undelayed) wind farm to the National Grid in just eighteen months rather than SSEN’s original timeline of thirty months.

Innovative design, the creation and adoption of a ‘build it before you build it’ digital BIM 3D model, and leadership in selection and motivation of the people in the project team lead to a highly successful project delivered on time and to budget. This project has played a key part in delivering green energy within a very challenging environment. Construction took place during the coldest winter in many years with the team facing 7m high snowdrifts, minus 30 degrees temperatures plus 100mph winds.

Stronelairg and Melgarve has been nominated as Scotland’s entry for the ICE Peoples Choice Award 2019.

15. The Mixed Use Redevelopment of Dundee Station

The redevelopment of Dundee Railway Station is a key element in the masterplan to completely re-shape Dundee’s central waterfront area. The station dates back to Victorian times and while it still retained some of its original features the last significant investment in it was in the 1960s.

The project removed much of the 1960s work including the concourse which was dated and cramped.  The design of the new concourse building which is the centre piece of the project delivers 3 distinct functions; to improve passenger movements and accessibility; to increase the provision of retail and café space; and to improve the overall aesthetic appearance with the retention of much of the original Victorian features combined with a modern arch roof structure referencing the grand railway structures of the past.

Perhaps its most unique feature is the construction of a new 120 bedroom hotel above the station.  Not only does this evoke the grand station hotels of the early 20^th century but gives the whole development the feel of being a well thought out travel and destination hub.

16. TECA

Robertson was commissioned by Henry Boot Developments, the development partners of Aberdeen City Council, to build a £330 million flagship entertainment and conference complex. Built on the outskirts of Aberdeen, on the site of the former Rowett Institute comprising 44 buildings, enabling works began in July 2016, to deliver a state of the art conference facility.

The complex is not one building but a series of six distinct buildings which transform the site into The Event Complex Aberdeen including a 12,500 audience arena; conferencing halls for a further 6,000 people; 33,250 m2 subterranean multifunction space below the main public square which functions as a car park and can also be converted into additional exhibition space for major events; a hydrogen energy center and substation; a 200 bedroom Hilton Hotel and a 150 bedroom Aloft Hotel.

The new facility is an important part of Aberdeen City Council’s plan to grow the city’s economy and is expected to contribute an additional 4.5 million visitors, £113 million of visitor spend and £63m net GVA to the Scottish economy.

17. V&A Dundee

The V&A is the centrepiece of Dundee’s £1 billion waterfront regeneration programme to transform the area into a world-leading destination for visitors and business.

The Council’s vision from the outset was to create a cutting edge and contemporary building, but which would also sit harmoniously in the surrounding landscape as well as alongside the existing Discovery Point attraction.  They employed the internationally renowned architect Kengo Kuma to design the who described his aim for the building was to use the surrounding water as an integral element of his concept, to create a harmonious relationship between the ship, the museum and the River Tay.

The museum is effectively two separate three-storey buildings, joined at roof level. The hybrid structural frame relies on reinforced concrete for the core, inner and outer walls, with structural steel supporting the upper floors and roof. The outer walls – inspired by surrounding Scottish cliffs – are formed from a series of in-situ concrete slabs, inset with lighter coloured pre-cast ‘fins’.

Congratulations to 2018 #SaltireCivils winners!

The winners of the 2018 Saltire Civil Engineering Awards were announced on Wednesday 24th October in a ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The Forth Replacement Crossing project, with the dramatic Queensferry Crossing as its centrepiece, has won the Greatest Contribution to Scotland award at this year’s Saltire Infrastructure Awards with Glasgow’s Shieldhall Tunnel picking up the much-prized Infrastructure award.

Recognising excellence and innovation in civil engineering, this year’s awards were run jointly by CECA Scotland and ICE Scotland, under the Saltire Society banner.

The Awards attracted 13 entries from across Scotland and included submissions for harbours, bridges, tunnels, motorways, distilleries, railways, public spaces and flood protection schemes.

Congratulations to all winners and also, to all CECA members on shortlisted projects.

The winning projects were as follows:

Saltire Building Award
The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Centre

(Contractors: Robertson Construction, SH Structures)

Saltire Engineering in Scotland Award

Carnogli Healthcare Centre, Tristan da Cunha

(Contractor: Morrison Construction)

Saltire Regeneration Award
Sighthill Transformational Regeneration Area

(Contractor: VHE Construction)

MAIN AWARDS

Saltire Infrastructure Award 
The Shieldhall Tunnel

(Contractor: Costain-Vinci Construction Grands Projets Joint Venture)

Saltire Greatest Contribution to Scotland
Forth Replacement Crossing

(Contractor: FCBC JV -Hochtief, Dragados, American Bridge, Morrison Construction)

Finalists

Clyde Wind Farm Extension (Balfour Beatty, Jones Bros)
Garriongill Embankment (The QTS Group, Skanska)
Inverness West Link (Wills Bros Civil Engineering)
Loanhead Railway Path Extension (RJ McLeod)
Ness Weir Restoration (Mackenzie Construction)
Prince Charles Wharf (Southbay Civil Engineering Ltd)
Tay Bridge (Taziker Industrial Ltd)
Water of Leith Flood Prevention Scheme (McLaughin & Harvey)

You can access the full Saltire Infrastructure Awards brochure below: