Members of the Harbour Advisory Committee paid a site visit to the new Cowes Breakwater today (Tuesday, 29th September), to get a close-up view of the 350-metre long structure and learn about the construction process from contractor Boskalis Westminster.
Ben Willows, Chairman of the Advisory Committee said: "We are very appreciative to CHC for organising today's breakwater inspection, given how much it has been discussed at our Advisory Committee meetings and in the Cowes community as a whole. To go out to the breakwater and hear from the contractors how it has been built, and see at first hand the level of technicality and the scale of the undertaking, was a positive and worthwhile experience, and has given all of us a better understanding of the project for when we are talking to people in Cowes."
Breakwater construction progress
Boskalis Westminster continues to make good progress with the installation of the rock armour protection to the breakwater. In spite of recent bad weather causing some delays to rock barge operations between Cherbourg and Cowes, barge load 17, out of a scheduled 18 or 19 loads is due to arrive in Cowes Harbour towards the end of this week, and practical completion of the breakwater is due in the third week of October.
Next phases of CHC harbour infrastructure & HCA East Cowes development
The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has indicated that the planned East Cowes development is progressing well and developers are now planning on commencing work on the construction of the proposed Victoria Marina in the winter of 2016 and towards spring of 2017. The dredging of the new marina will most likely be carried at the same time as the dredging of the harbour's new Eastern Channel. A seasonal restriction of carrying out dredging works in the winter months only, due to the summer growing season of the protected eelgrass beds on the Shrape, means that the next phases of the harbour infrastructure works (Eastern Channel dredge and Shrape extension) will also likely commence in the autumn/winter of 2016 to 2017.
New Cowes Harbour tidal model
Hydrodynamic engineers ABPmer, lead consultants for all marine elements of CHC's Cowes Breakwater Project and the HCA's East Cowes regeneration project, have successfully completed the construction and verification of a new and technically advanced regional tidal model that will provide the platform and basis for the local Solent and Cowes model. Additionally, it is expected that the local model will be completed within the next couple of weeks.
CHC has ensured that each stage of the development process for this new local model has been fully scrutinised by an independent expert modeller; furthermore, the Commission is currently considering alternatives for independent expert scrutiny and oversight of the final calibration reports.
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