Posted on December 15, 2021
Everton FC’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock has passed another milestone as the water has been completely displaced with sand.
It has taken three months to fill the dock with the initial 450,000m3 of sea-dredged sand, forming a solid bed onto which the 52,888 capacity stadium will be built.
The dock infill was carried out a dredger named The Shoalway, owned by Dutch company Boskalis. The Shoalway made more then 130 trips over 32km out into the Irish Sea to collect sand for the infilling.
Laing O’Rourke principal engineer Andy Baynton said: “The Shoalway has been a 24/7 operation, with two crews operating 12-hour shifts.
“It’s been a huge operation to get us to this stage and now the dock is filled, it will be taken back to the Netherlands for a service, ready for its next project.”
The second phase of groundworks involves compacting the sand, which is already underway. Piles of 16-20m are currently being drilled on the northern and southern wharves, and will be extended across the site.
Explaining the process, Buro Happold ground engineering associate and job leader Jonathan Rowe said: “To ensure that the settlement of the dock infill is controlled and measurable, rapid dynamic compaction will now compact the upper six metres of the infilled sand.
“This is done by dropping a 16t weight, at a frequency of 60 times per minute, with a land roller compactor completing this process.
“Once this has been achieved, we then validate that the right densities have been achieved, with penetration tests from the very top of the newly compacted sand to the bottom of the basin.
“As a result, the detailed construction and operation programme will be reviewed to establish how, when and what influence the infilling has had on the proposed construction process.
“It also determines the return periods of relaying the pavements, the hard standing and the pitch surface, all of which are ground bearing.”
The Grade II listed Hydraulic Tower has been clad in scaffolding to ensure stabilisation during the compaction, as the vibrations could cause it damage. It will form part of the fan plaza in the completed stadium.
A local Everton fan has taken footage of the infilled site from his drone, which you can watch below.
