HBPW has left Sheffield a 120-year legacy but hopefully the South Yorkshire city will never need to take advantage of the engineering feat penned by managing partner, Paul Withers.
Recently Sheffield received an additional £16 million to bolster its flood defences in the suburbs of Neepsend and Kelham, both part of the local authority’s Upper Don Valley Phase 2 Scheme.
However, the City Council has been leading on the Lower Don Valley flood defence project for several years, following the floods of 2007 and 2012 when millions of pounds damage was caused to properties across the city.
Now, this latest phase guarantees even more protection for the area.
Paul Withers said: “We have designed continuous cantilever sheet piled walls as flood protection for the next 120 years as part of the Upper Don Valley Phase 2 scheme.
These will run, at varying points, along vulnerable stretches of the River Don.
“The initial artist’s impression above shows clad brickwork defences in position at Jessops Riverside and along the Five Weirs Walk, however it’s been agreed that any completed piled walling will now leave the sheet piling exposed.
“One hundred and twenty years – the projected life of our piled walls – is regarded as a sensibly long period for structures of this type. Theoretically we could have designed them for 500 years but who knows what flood levels will be like in 2520! Equally 30 years would have been too short in engineering terms. In any event the ideal is that Sheffield will never need to test our work!”
Sheffield City Council has welcomed the latest £16m funding boost which will support the continued delivery of its on-going plans to safeguard the city from the effects of flooding.
Part of the cash will not only protect the Neepsend and Kelham districts but also support natural flood management (NFM) measures in the uplands above the city.