FP McCann has completed the construction of a new retaining wall and in-river works in Kesh, enabling the reopening of a footbridge that had been closed following severe flooding in 2015.

Standing nearly 8 metres high, the project posed significant challenges for FP McCann and subcontractor Milligan Bros. They had to navigate the unpredictable Kesh River, work within a highly restricted site next to private property, and contend with limited access via the busy A35 near the bridge.

Initial works involved demolition of the existing stone clad reinforced concrete wall as well as demolition of old masonry river wall and existing sheds. The challenging ground conditions were made even more difficult with the existing varying rock bed forcing a change to the design of the temporary works design.

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VP Groundforce designed a triple braced sheet pile cofferdam with a top-down construction sequence deployed to allow a formation depth approximately 2m below the existing river bed level of the Kesh River.

With inclement weather during the summer of 2023, the site was met with numerous flood events adding to the precarious conditions being faced on site. To mitigate against further weather depending masonry works, the river face of the wall was constructed using a stone clad pattern liner within the formwork.

All concrete for the works was supplied from FP McCann's Lisnaskea depot who helped with the solution of using steel fibre reinforced underwater concrete when faced with incoming water ingress during infill concreting operations where dewatering operations were not viable.

FP McCann's Ennis stone was used to complement the internal face of the retaining walls as well as tying into the existing masonry walls. FP McCann's primary rock armour was also used within the river as scour protection to the existing masonry walls. Surfacing works were also completed in the carpark.