May 2011
Halcrow has won a prestigious Environment Agency exemplar award for its role in the Radcot Paddle and Rymer Weir replacement project.
The team’s efforts to improve health and safety while lessening the scheme’s environmental impact were instrumental in securing the award, which was presented on 5 April 2011. Halcrow worked with the Environment Agency, Jackson Civil Engineering and EC Harris to deliver the project.
Halcrow’s design sought to reduce carbon emissions by introducing cement replacements in the concrete. Fish are able to pass through the weir via a specially designed fish and canoe passage – the first in the UK. Both elements were commended by the client.
Halcrow’s supervisors and environmental clerk of works also supported the contractor, Jackson Civil Engineering, during construction. Innovative ideas such as the last concrete truck removing the concrete wash-out waste, recycling concrete from the previous weir in the new structure and having a robust site waste management plan have continued to draw positive responses from the client, the lock keeper and local residents.
The area is home to a range of wildlife, including salmon, otters, badgers and grass snakes. Close monitoring of the project’s environmental impact using motion sensor cameras enabled a reactive response if construction was deemed to damage the surrounding habitats. The second construction season, commencing in April, will also review the impact of piling works and consider the use of bubble curtains in the river to potentially reduce the risk to fish populations.
Kevin Roberts, the resident weir and lock keeper, commented: “Well done to the site team at Radcot. You are a fine example to other contractors and present an image to the public and other interested parties that your company and indeed the entire construction industry can feel proud of.”