Media centre

Friday 14 May 2004

NETWORK RAIL DODGES TIDE TO REPAIR SEA WALL

Region & Route:

| Wales & Western: Wales & Borders

| Wales & Western: Western

| Wales & Western

A team of engineers from Network Rail have been working between tides to stabilise the sea wall on a beach at Llanaber, Barmouth.             The coastal defence sea wall at Llanaber, which carries the railway line from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli, North West Wales, is in need of major repair due to constant erosion by the sea. In total the project is costing £750,000. Work on the 1,300 metre stretch of coastline has to be carried out at low tide when the beach is exposed, because the beach becomes completely inaccessible during high tide. During each low tide heavy plant, machinery and equipment is been taken on to the beach where a new concrete wall is being built in front of the existing sea wall to protect it from further erosion. All the equipment is removed again before the tide comes back in. To gain access to the existing sea wall around 300 tonnes of large rock armour had to be moved, which will be put back when the work is completed. “This project was vital to ensure the future safety of the railway line,” said Daniel Recchia, Network Rail’s Scheme Project Manager. “To stabilise the existing concrete sea wall we are constructing a new reinforced concrete wall at the base of the existing one and replacing the large rock amour which has been displaced by the sea.” -more- Sea wall - 2             “The project was complicated by the fact that the only access was via the beach and we could only work at low tide.” Work started in March this year and is due for completion in July, in time for the summer holiday season. As part of the work, Network Rail is also repairing an old bridleway down to the beach.