Located near to the Tawe Barrage in Swansea Bay, and owned by the Associated British Ports (ABP), the Pier plays an important part in preventing coastal erosion in the City of Swansea. The inner section of the pier provides wave protection to the navigation channel and the Tawe Barrage. It also holds the beach area to the west of the pier in its current position. Adverse weather and storms in recent years meant the pier suffered structural damage.
Robert Gray, ABP Port Manager for Swansea and Port Talbot said: "One of our core values at ABP is to be good neighbours in the communities where we operate. By making this significant investment in the repair of Swansea West Pier, we are not only preventing coastal erosion but also hope that we will create an opportunity for Swansea Council and others to develop public access on top of the rebuilt structure to benefit the local community in future.
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"We will work to minimise noise and traffic disruption as much as possible and appreciate residents' and stakeholders' understanding and patience during the construction phase."
Construction work will include the building of a new retaining wall to support the existing pier structure and was preceded by a range of engineering and environmental surveys to ensure that distubance to the marine and operational environment will be minimised. As part of this, an important goal was to also make sure that work is organised in a way that will help protect the safe navigation of vessels.
Leo Martin, Managing Director for GRAHAM's Civil Engineering division said: "We're delighted to have commenced works on site at Swansea West Pier. The project will build on our strong existing partnership with ABP, who have been a key client for us over many years of working on complex maritime projects. The new retaining wall we are constructing is the result of our solution led approach to engineering challenges and has been specially developed to accommodate working within a tidal environment.
"This is a vital project for the City of Swansea and its historic port and we're proud to have been chosen to deliver it on behalf of ABP."
The work will allow ABP personnel continued operational access.
