A hard to reach section of bank on the River Cam has been saved from collapse in just four months without damage to the surrounding site of Special Scientific Interest.
The Rothen Group, a national independent civil engineering and maintenance business servicing UK Waterway worked together with UK-based construction and civil engineering company JN Bentley. The Rothen Group offered a solution that would not only save the hard to access bank from collapsing, but would also be completed swiftly, for ecological and environmental protection concerns, given that the site is of special scientific interest.
As a result, The Rothen Group’s new 26ft wide-beam digger pontoon and a marine ready excavator, was used to clear the vegetation and install over 500m of piling to stabilise the river bank. The wide-beam digger pontoon is fitted with a small hydraulic power pack which operates four stability jack legs, allowing the pontoon to hold up to 8 tonnes of machinery, whilst on the water.
Ian Rothen, Founder of The Rothen Group, commented: “Due to the rural setting of the works, there was no access for land-based plant equipment, other than at the centrally located compound. This meant that all access for the piling and vegetation clearance works had to be undertaken from a waterborne plant. This is where our 26ft wide-beam digger pontoon and marine ready excavator made light work of what would otherwise have been a very difficult job.”
Colin Wilkinson, Contract Manager, at JN Bentley commented: “Having worked on similar projects before, The Rothen Group demonstrated a high level of appreciation for, and understanding, of the risks involved. What could have been a potentially tricky site was dealt with professionally and promptly throughout the programming and delivery. Expertise from the ecological arm of the business was also an added benefit due to the time sensitive nature of the works being completed and the location on a site of special scientific interest.”
For more information about The Rothen Group’s wide array of specialist wide-beam pontoons or narrow-beam floating plant visit their website or follow on Twitter.com/TheRothenGroup and Facebook.com/therothengroup. For business enquiries call: 01827 215715 or email: info@therothengroup.co.uk
