Project Description
Cork County Council’s East Tip is located on the Haulbowline Island near the town of Cobh in Ireland. The site was a dumping ground from the former Irish Steel factory and a highly controversial and unsightly legacy of the industrial past.
In 2005 the Haulbowline Island site was found to be in breach of the Waste Framework Directive. The European Commission accepted Cork County Council’s proposed remediation strategy for this environmentally sensitive site and the Sirius Group and P.J. Hegarty & Sons designed and constructed this complex restoration project. The project received the Engineers Ireland ‘Best National Engineering Project of the Year 2019’ award.
The Challenge
The Lower Harbour and the town of Cobh are leading tourist attractions and popular cruise destinations. The visual impact of the East Tip, with a huge volume of unsightly waste in the vicinity, was unacceptable and detrimental to this top tourist destination.
A comprehensive risk assessment for the remediation of the East Tip and capping of 650,000m³ of industrial waste was required to transform the steelworks site into an outstanding public recreational amenity.
The requirement was to design and construct a capping system that maximised use of the existing materials and would meet all environmental constraints, in difficult marine conditions.
The Solution
Remediation of the East Tip required a highly complex design solution and engineering works in the ecologically sensitive marine environment of Cork Harbour.
The Sirius Group designers worked with ABG to develop a geosynthetic capping solution that would provide adequate protection, drainage capacity and frictional performance to ensure slope stability. ABG Pozidrain 6S250D/NW8 and 6S250/NW8 geocomposite drainage layer was specified and installed on top of the 1mm LLDPE textured membrane, with 1m of soil cover. The project was delivered on time and below budget. Cork Harbour has been completely transformed by the remediation of the East Tip with excellent benefits for the local residents and a positive impact on the environment.
ABG Pozidrain geocomposite drainage layer
The ABG Service
ABG provided design assistance, slope stability calculations and delivered material to site.
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