Barking Riverside Earthworks
Client
Barking Riverside Limited
Services
- Earthworks Specification, Compliance Testing and Verification.
- Supervision of Reprofiling to Masterplan Levels
- Remediation Strategy Report
Specification and Management of Barking Riverside Earthworks
The large development site at Barking Riverside, London is one of the most ambitious and important new brownfield developments in the UK. The site includes a former landfill and power station with 2km of Thames river frontage.
During the 1990s the site received surcharge material to raise the levels. Following this an additional 2m surcharge soil layer was placed on top to induce settlement and mitigate the potential risk of settlement due to underlying soft deposits.
Earthworks were required to reprofile the site to the proposed Masterplan levels, enabling development parcels to be divested. The material to be reprofiled included historical landfill material and surcharge soils.
CGL produced a remediation strategy document that was approved by the Local Authority and Environment Agency, which included agreeing chemical acceptability criteria to maximise the volume of material that could be reused within the site. CGL subsequently produced a specification for the proposed earthworks, in accordance with the Manual of Contract Documents for Highways Works, which included defining geotechnical acceptability criteria for material that was to be used and requirements for compliance testing following placement.
During the initial earthworks phases, CGL carried out compliance testing using insitu techniques including nuclear density gauge testing (NDG), hand shear vane and CBR testing. Samples were also submitted for chemical and geotechnical laboratory analysis. During more recent phases of earthworks, CGL has undertaken a Client’s representative role, including the review of results of compliance testing undertaken by the contractor.
Where material was identified which did not meet specification, CGL undertook further assessment to identify opportunities to reuse such material within the site, reducing the need for offsite disposal. To date, the scheme has resulted in over 1,000,000 cubic metres of soil being reused and further earthworks are currently ongoing.
