Kent’s Dover and
Folkestone wastewater treatment scheme required nine shafts up to
23m diameter for pumping stations and storage tanks
Mott MacDonald is responsible for the engineering of some of the
deepest and largest diameter shafts for infrastructure projects
throughout the world. Our experience covers all aspects of shaft
engineering – from the use of caissons, underpinning, diaphragm
walls, secant piled wallsdewatering and compressed air to jet
grouting, ground treatment, ground freezing, and using the
sequential excavation method (SEM) for shafts through soft
ground.
Construction of
London’s Heathrow Express rail link included major shafts alongside
a 60m diameter cofferdam
Although it is generally linked with tunnelling, shaft engineering
is a discipline in itself, demanding particular skills and
expertise. Our specialist services in this field extend from the
planning and site investigation phases through to construction
supervision. We undertake the specifying, supervising and
interpretation of site investigations, the prediction of ground
movements using in-house computer software, and the monitoring of
ground instrumentation.
Our skills also encompass the assessment of rock quality hardness,
designing appropriate soft ground or hard rock support systems, and
the supervision of construction.
Some notable projects involving shaft engineering by Mott MacDonald
include:
- Jubilee Line Extension, UK
- Dinorwic pumped storage scheme, UK
- Docklands Light Railway, UK
- Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme, Hong Kong
- Boston Harbor Project, USA
- Heathrow Express Rail Link, UK
- PowerGrid cable tunnels, Singapore
- Lesotho Highlands Water Project
Triple caisson for
shaft sinking on the Greater Cairo wastewater project
