Lancaster build on solid foundations
Bachy Soletanche, the leading geotechnical specialist, has recently completed two separate projects in the historic city of Lancaster, providing piling solutions for a new office complex and a new luxury apartment development. Working simultaneously on the two projects, the Bachy Soletanche teams were less than two miles apart during the work.
Rob Howarth, Contracts Manager at Bachy Soletanche commented:
“Bachy Soletanche is no stranger to the city of Lancaster, having worked on recent projects at the Police Station and Dalton Square – but it was still a strange coincidence to be working on two independent projects so close together at the same time.”
The larger project of the two was at Caton Road, constructing a contiguous piled wall to support an office development and provide an underground car-park area for the new building. In total, the £270,000 project involved the construction of one hundred and twenty large diameter auger (LDA) rotary-bored piles, with a diameter of 750mm and a depth of 10m. Having started in March, the eight-week programme came to a close on May 5th, and the Bachy Soletanche team needed to operate within a very tight working area behind a row of houses.
Contract Manager at Bachy Soletanche, Steve Mallinson commented:
“The Caton Road project ran smoothly, although the tight confines of the site caused a few logistical problems. Added to this, the rock underneath the site was much harder than anticipated, which took its toll on the equipment – but the project still ran to schedule.”
The second project involved the construction of another contiguous piled wall, this time providing support for a luxury flat development with an underground car park in the heart of the city. This time using the continuous flight auger (CFA) piling method, Bachy Soletanche constructed three hundred and ninety-three piles, with a diameter of 500mm and a depth of 17m.
This contract, on the banks of the Lancaster Canal, was worth over £200,000 and took one month to complete. The site itself has a history of development, and remnants of previous foundations needed to be removed by main contractor Pinington Construction before piling work could commence.
Having now completed the two projects, the Bachy Soletanche team don’t expect to wait too long before the famous red rigs roll back into the city. Rob Howarth added:
“Lancaster is a small city that is growing and developing all the time. Combine this with its close proximity to our Burscough office, and I shouldn’t think it will be too long before we find ourselves on site in Lancaster again.”