Investigation and Assessment of Sheet Pile Quay Wall Structures at Sunderland’s Riverside Quays

In the summer of 2018 the city of Sunderland hosted the start of the world-famous International Tall Ships Races. This maritime spectacle was held within the Port of Sunderland and along the banks of the River Wear at the city’s historic riverside quays; which have a prestigious history of shipbuilding and industrial use dating back some 200 years and more. In planning for the Tall Ships event, Sunderland City Council commissioned an investigation and assessment of the piled quay wall structures along the riverside quays to examine the capability of the ageing infrastructure to accommodate proposed dredging of the riverbed in conjunction with berthing pontoons, vessel mooring and crowd loadings. Embedded steel pile walls of varying structural forms were examined along 800m on the north bank and 450m along the south bank of the river.

This paper presents a case study of the quayside appraisal undertaken. An account is given of the desk-based review, visual inspections, non-intrusive surveys, and intrusive investigations implemented for characterisation of the sheet pile wall structures. Challenges encountered during the quay wall investigations are outlined. A summary of the modelling and analysis is presented along with key conclusions drawn on assessed quay wall capabilities.