The bollards were to be reinforced firstly by installing a series of 6m rock anchors using the down the hole hammer method, these anchors were then grouted using a thixotropic grout. This grout had to be used as it does not flow easily which was paramount because no grout could egress into the sea via gaps in the concrete. Furthermore, it was determined to reduce the chance of any grout entering the sea, grouting was only to be done at low tide, adding an extra level of intricacy to the works. 

The quay wall is composed of a series of interlocking cast concrete blocks, therefore the anchor arrangement and depth was chosen to maximise the amount of blocks being intersected by each individual anchor thus tying the blocks together. 

The anchors had to be installed at exactly the correct location as a steel framework had to be erected over the anchors to connect to the bollard. 

 

The second set of anchors were pre-made U-bars which were to be situated at the edge of the drill pit adjacent to the sea wall, these were to provide spacing reinforcement for the bollard. 

 

These U-bars were installed and fixed using a specially selected resin which gives an extremely strong bond. This process was repeated for the remaining bollards. 

The Port of Dover and principal contractor both gave Condor praise for their professionalism and work ethic during the project especially considering the adverse weather effects and time constraints. 

 

We are looking forward to working on the quay wall again as Condor have been awarded phase two of the bollard reinforcement works with the new project to begin late 2024.