D-Drill’s south east branch restores historic lock

Concrete cutting experts from D-Drill’s south east branch were called in to help restore a historic lock in Berkshire – and had to guard against environmental damage.

The team at D-Drill was contracted by national construction firm Galliford Try to restore the reinforced concrete embankment of the Old Windsor Lock because it was starting to move and break-up.

The lock, which was built in 1822, is maintained by the Environment Agency and it embarked on the restoration work as the embankment was becoming hazardous. 

The skilled D-Drill staff used specialist diamond sawing equipment to form movement and expansion joints to prevent future break-up of the concrete. 

The job was made more complicated by the fact that no residue could be allowed to seep into the water or into the ground. 

Special bunds were set-up to contain any waste, which was then removed with an industrial wet vacuum and disposed of into a sealed container. 

The works were carried out during a three-week scheduled programme and was made all the more difficult by rising waters during bad weather. 

Johnny Barber, of D-Drill’s Alton office, said: “This was a job that called upon a range of skills and expertise of our team – not only the cutting method but also making the site safe and sealed.

“It was essential to maintain a public thoroughfare and, with that, had to ensure public safety. Also, members of our team had to carry out their work wearing life-jackets, which is something they are not used to!

“We worked closely with the Environment Agency and Galliford Try to ensure no waste made its way into the canal.

“The devised bund system used enabled successful removal of all contained waste safely and efficiently.

“A further consideration for our team was that no power supply was available on-site because of the location, so we arranged to use a bunded 415v 3 phase diesel generator which again, was essential to make sure that no waste material escaped.

“There we regular ad-hoc visits from the Environment Agency to check the work we were undertaking and both they and the client, Galliford Try, were extremely happy with the way we went about the task and completed the job on time and within budget.”

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