WaveWalker arrives at Dawlish
WORK HAS commenced on the second section of the new Dawlish sea wall, which will help protect the vital rail artery to the Southwest for the next 100 years. Construction of the £80 million upgrade began on November 10 and will take approximately two years to complete. The section from Dawlish station to the Coastguard breakwater east of the station is expected to be finished later this year, while work on the section between the station and the Colonnade breakwater, which will link up the new wall at Marine Parade, will start shortly afterwards.
The most obvious item of equipment being employed is an eight-legged, self-contained, walking jack-up, known as a Wave Walker, the only one of its kind in Europe. It will be the first time this type of equipment has been used to maintain the UK rail network. It will be employed by the contractors, BAM Nuttall, to safely access the sea face of the railway embankment along Marine Parade and help deliver the piling at the sea wall. The Wave Walker can be used across the high tidal ranges that particularly impact the south Devon coastline. Once finished, the 415m section of new sea wall will be higher than the current structure and will have a curved edge to send waves back towards the sea. It will also feature a high-level, wider and safer promenade, provides pedestrian access to the beach and an accessible station footbridge with lifts.
As part of Network Rail’s commitment to spend money locally, the scheme will provide an important boost to the south Devon economy, with as much as £10m expected to be spent with local businesses.