Writes Nicola Depuis
Congratulations to Cork County Council, RPS Consulting Engineers, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for their monumental win last weekend of the Excellence Awards – National Engineering Project of the Year, sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The project took home the main prize at the tenth annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards, held in association with ESB, at a ceremony in the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin.
According to the Engineers Journal, ‘The remediation of the East Tip on Haulbowline Island has seen 650,000m3 of steelworks waste, a negative legacy of the island’s industrial past, transformed into a magnificent public recreational amenity for the beneficial use of local residents, the local workforce and visitors alike. With Haulbowline’s history as the location of the only steelworks ever to operate in Ireland, this was a unique journey fraught with many challenges. It required the application of innovative and bespoke engineering solutions from project initiation through to completion. Delivered comfortably under budget, the project provides a template for the successful delivery of public sector projects. Considering the extensive contractual risks presented by the uniqueness of the site, nature and characteristics of the waste material and location within Cork Harbour this is a significant achievement. Adopting the most innovative and customised engineering solutions throughout to overcome many challenges, the East Tip now boasts new playing pitches, walkways, cycleways, seating areas and the planting of hundreds of trees, woodlands and wildflower areas.’
Plans are currently being progressed to open the park once a lease has been finalised. This will enable Cork County Council to operate the area as a public recreation amenity. The award was voted for by a panel of judges and the public, and the East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project was competing for the title of Engineering Project of the Year against IAA Visual Control Tower, Dublin Airport by Arup, Cruiserath Biologics by Bristol Myers Squibb, Dublin Port Ro-Ro Jetty by Keating, Ocean Pier Berth 31-34 by Keating and Center Parcs Longford Forest by ORS.
The East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project was also awarded the ‘Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award’, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions, and with two awards in this category, this award was jointly won by Cork City Council, Keating and Arup for the Mary Elmes Bridge project.
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