Ground Engineering magazine has reported about CGL’s ongoing ground investigations on the Isle of Skye.
CGL is the supervising engineer on the scheme delivering interpretive geotechnical parameters to enable Morgan Sindall Infrastructure to design the foundations for new transmission towers on behalf of Scottish and South Electricity Networks (SSEN).
The transmission towers will replace the existing overhead electricity line between Ardmore on the Isle of Skye and Fort Augustus in the Scottish Highlands, as the current line has exceeded its capacity limit. The connection of the new replacement line will support new renewable energy sources to the transmission network.
CGL’s Senior Engineer Simon Hunt highlights that the ground investigation works are fairly standard, the challenges are around the access to one of the remotest part of the British Isles. Simon adds “we’ve had drilling rigs essentially climbing the slides of mountains with winches to try and get access to some of these areas” he says.
CGL used geographic information system (GIS) and lidar modelling in highly challenging access conditions to better target its investigations as part of this project.
