Portland Pile Gates

Supporting Red7Marine, we designed two bespoke pile gates and JUB interfacing cantilevers for the construction of a new deep-water berth, operational in April 2023, at Portland Harbour. Reshaping the harbour, the development provides a new berth with a deeper and extended berthing pocket and approach channel to allow larger vessels to use the port.

Red7Marine required a multi-function pile gate design to aid the installation of a 400m king and sheet pile combi-wall structure. Two bespoke piling gates incorporating a number of novel features were designed by our engineers to minimise crane lifts and maximise safety and productivity to install multiple piles within tolerance.

Design included:

• A twin-level structure to restrain the pile at two separate levels
• A means of mechanically adjusting the top of king pile plan position and adjusting about the vertical z-axis of the pile gate
• A common design gate to mechanically and structurally interface with JUBs
• Separate cantilever shelf supports
• A dummy pile stub to mimic the reference pile
• The capacity to install three further king piles without moving either the gate or the JUB location
• A means within the gate assembly to relatively orientate clutches
• The capacity to allow a hydraulic hammer to pass clearly down through the gate
• Operator interface controls
• Manufacturing and fabrication support
• Transport and logistics support