Premier Construction

Shieldhall Tunnel Glasgow

Shieldhall
Written by Roma Publications

Shieldhall Tunnel

An outstanding feat of engineering shortlisted in the Infrastructure category of the RICS Awards 2019, is Scottish Water’s new 3.1 mile-long waste water tunnel in the south of Glasgow, completed as part of the biggest upgrade of the city’s waste water network in more than a century.

Shieldhall Tunnel was constructed from Craigton Industrial Estate. It runs under Bellahouston Park, Pollok Park, along Titwood Road to Queen’s Park where it ties into the existing sewer network.

The tunnel is Scotland’s biggest sewer superstructure and has become operational in a feat of engineering hailed as “extraordinary” by Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham.

The scheme was carried out by a Costain VINCI joint venture.

The project improves water quality in the River Clyde and its tributaries also reduce the risk of flooding in Aikenhead Road and Curtis Avenue in Mount Florida and Robslee Drive, Robslee Road, Robslee Crescent and Orchard Park Avenue in Giffnock. The tunnel was constructed using a specially designed boring machine. The tunnel route was carefully selected to minimise disruption. It is big enough to fit a double-decker bus inside and more than five times as long as the Clyde Tunnel.

Collectively, more than 100 workers spent 1.5 million working hours on the project; the result is a 4.65m diameter tunnel that provides 90,000 cubic metres of extra stormwater storage while 90 per cent of the effluent that had previously been discharged from the network’s combined sewer overflows into the River Clyde can now be treated at Shieldhall sewage treatment works.

The works included the excavation of more than more than 500,000 tonnes of earth, stone and clay, the installation of over 3,200 six-segment concrete rings and took over 1.5 million working hours to construct. Over 90% of material excavated was recycled. The tunnel bifurcates the existing network at Queen’s Park and, en route to Shieldhall treatment works, crosses three roads – including the M77 – as well as the Paisley Canal, Glasgow South Western and Inverclyde railway lines and numerous sensitive utilities.

Further complicating the task was the local geology, which includes mudstone, sandstone, glacial tills, soft alluviums and old coal workings. To provide the necessary geological data, 179 boreholes were drilled.

Dominic Flanagan, Scottish Water Project Manager, said: “Many hundreds of people have worked as part of Costain VINCI Construction Grand Projets Joint Venture (CVJV), which was set up to deliver the tunnel.

“To enable the construction of the tunnel required a wide range of specialist skills, knowledge and expertise. Over the course of the project, our workforce has included local contractors and those with international experience and backgrounds.

“We are all enormously proud of what we have achieved for the good of the people of Greater Glasgow.”

Roseanna Cunningham said: “The strategic importance of the Shieldhall Tunnel as part of the ongoing investment across Glasgow by Scottish Water cannot be understated. It’s a fantastic example of the capital investment programme delivering real long-term benefits for communities to reduce flooding, help deal with the impact of climate change and improve the environment.

“Much of our underground infrastructure for water and waste water dates to the Victorian era, when we proudly led the way in introducing massive improvements to deliver positive impact on the health of our communities. Communities across Glasgow will benefit for years to come from this latest extraordinary feat of engineering which lies hidden deep beneath the city.

Neil Grosset, the Project Director, of Costain, said: “Everyone in the Costain and VINCI Construction Grands Projets team is delighted to have delivered the Shieldhall Tunnel project for Scottish Water and the people of Glasgow. Completing this scheme, one of the most challenging of its kind in history, is testament to the passion, skills and team spirit of everyone involved in the project.”

Shieldhall

CARLISLE® Construction Materials

CARLISLE Construction Materials Ltd specialises in manufacturing and suppling EPDM waterproofing membranes for flat roofs, facades and buildings. The umbrella brand CARLISLE® CM Europe unites the trusted brands HERTALAN®, ALUTRIX®, HARDCAST®, ECOLAN®, ARBO® and market leading EPDM hybrid membrane, RESITRIX®.

CARLISLE has been in operation in the UK for over 6 years and in that time has completed work on a number of high profile, highly commendable projects. One such project is the RICS Award nominated Macallan Distillery in Scotland, where CARLISLE oversaw the use of RESITRIX® as the roof systems core membrane.

Managing Director Duncan Kirkwood explained:

“It was a wooden cartridge roof construction, which was basically SIPS panels, and because of the movement within that roof, what the architect had specified wouldn’t be robust enough for this movement. That’s why they went for RESITRIX®. RESITRIX® is an extremely robust, strong roofing material. It was a project that we got deeply involved with the client and specifier because it wasn’t an easy roof construction.

“We supply flat roofing waterproofing system to commercial building including hospitals and schools with RESITRIX® on a regular basis. We have the benefit of also being able to get involved with some highly technical roof constructions, particularly if there’s a lot of movement, foot traffic, detailed work or plant on a roof.”

Reflecting on the RICS nomination for the project, CARLISLE Marketing Executive Shail Chauhan, added:
“It definitely means a lot to us as a company. The project highlights not only the product but also that as a company we are committed to work with specifiers, architects and contractors. We can work with multiple teams to make sure they get full support. It would be really great if the project was to win.”

Other recent significant projects for CARLISLE include the North Sea Observatory in Lincolnshire and the Golden Gate in Amsterdam. The company works across a rich variety of developments and is consistently able to demonstrate its skills on the more complicated schemes.

Duncan concluded:
“We pride ourselves on our open and honest working relationship with both the clients and the roofing contractors. Our guiding principles are all about honesty and transparency. We try to keep things simple and make life easy for our customers and other stakeholders.”

 

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Roma Publications