Award-winning papers in 2015 Free

The Safety in Construction Prize, awarded to the paper which best describes the measures taken on a project to safeguard the health and safety of the construction team, the user and the public, was awarded to Cooper et al. (2015).

The Littlehaven promenade and seawall scheme has transformed a stretch of South Shields’ seafront in north-east England from a neglected length of coastline into a desirable visitor destination. The project involved the demolition of a failing seawall, on-site reuse of excavated material in raising levels and landscaping of backing land areas, and construction of a 500 m promenade and seawall along a new, landward and more sustainable, curved alignment. High quality concrete finishes, bespoke public art and breathtaking streetscape were used to ensure this striking scheme captured the public imagination and revitalised the seafront. This paper focuses on aspects of this multiple award-winning scheme that recognise: its technical engineering excellence and ingenuity; its sustainability merits and environmental considerations; the benefits that have been created for the local community; special features of distinction; and the approach to health and safety management during design and construction. The scheme illustrates how a positive and collaborative approach can be created between parties through a shared vision for enhancement of a coastal frontage, and how such enhancement can be delivered through attention to detail in designing and constructing the works.

The Halcrow Prize, awarded for the best paper on maritime engineering, was awarded to Pontee (2015).

Large realignment sites near the mouth of an estuary have the potential to raise water levels throughout the estuary. This increase is produced by the newly created intertidal area drawing additional water into the estuary on the flood tide. Although some of this additional water enters the realignment site, a proportion also bypasses the realignment site and continues upstream, thus increasing water levels in these areas of the estuary. The modelling results described in this paper suggest that an important determinant on estuary water levels is the rate at which the realignment site fills. Schemes that fill more slowly are predicted to have less impact than those that fill more rapidly, even if high water levels within the schemes are similar. For the schemes tested in this paper, the rate at which the site flooded appeared to depend less on breach dimensions and more on the width of the site that the flood waters had to cross in order to cause full inundation. It is proposed that those options with the shortest distances result in the flood tidal waters experiencing less frictional losses. These options showed a more rapid rise in water levels within the site, and produced a correspondingly larger increase in water levels within the estuary.