Richter Is Reactive Following Storm Ciara.
Published: 30/07/2021 09:54
Following a period of intense rainfall from Storm Ciara in April 2020, the towns at the bottom of Calder Valley in West Yorkshire experienced severe flooding. Within the valley sits Shade Chapel, Todmorden, a Victorian chapel which was converted into apartments. The chapel was built over Walsden Brook, whereby the culvert carrying the surface water, became significantly damaged during the storm.
The walls of the culvert originally supporting the structure, were demolished by the force of the intense flow rate, transporting boulders weighing several tonnes, causing progressive damage and significant differential settlement of the structure above, thus leading to the emergency evacuation of the residential dwellings.
Richter’s client, Peter Duffy Civil Engineering Ltd, were responsible for assessing and inspecting the damaged culvert and developing a progressive repair procedure based on the observations. The inspection personnel entering the culvert required incremental temporary works protection to be installed.
The propping scheme developed in partnership with Mabey Hire's technical team, comprised of Mabey System 160 props, in order to streamline the programme from getting the equipment from the drawing sheet onto the delivery vehicles.
As the emergency temporary works were installed, additional defects were identified whereby Richter's reactive approach ensured that progress wasn't delayed and the structure was made safe, and a safe working environment for the operatives was provided.