The River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme is one of the key capital investment projects by Wicklow County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) with an investment of €40 million and over the next two years will see the completion of this vital Flood Defence Scheme.
Background
Works on site have been ongoing since 2012. The main contractor was SIAC construction Ltd. They were on site for two years before the company went into examinership. The contract was terminated by agreement following conciliation resulting in the construction of the works effectively being suspended since November 2013.
Works that have been completed already will have a significant beneficial affect in alleviating flood risk in the interim period.
So what’s happened since then?
Wicklow County Council is now continuing the construction with Tom Foley Management Ltd taking on the role of Construction Management Service Provider and back in July 2014, works recommenced on the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.
Simon Harris, TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) today (28th November 2014) said, “I am delighted that this very important scheme has recommenced. This is a vital project for Bray and it’s local residents. I welcome Bray Municipal District’s commitment to ensuring that the community are kept well informed of the schemes progress, it’s changes and improvements as they occur. My office, the Office of Public Works, continues to work closely with Wicklow County Council on all aspects of this project and I will endeavour to ensure that this project is completed in full and on time”.
To date a number of works have been completed or are ongoing. These include:
Repairs and bank stabilisation at Silverbridge.
Emergency Works at La Vallee.
Construction work on the flood defence bund west of the County Brook stream is continuing and further flooding problems at the County Brook will be addressed as part of the River Dargle scheme.
- A substantial part of the Peoples Park re-opened to the public on 5th November.
- De-vegetation of the south bank of the river (RHB) is ongoing at the Maltings.
- Enabling works at Seapoint Court and Maltings.
- Masonry wall construction at Ravenswell Road.
- A temporary bridge at People’s Park, to allow construction traffic across the river without impacting on the riverbed.
On going works that will continue into early 2015 include:
- Flood defence works at Seapoint Court and Ravenswell.
- La Vallee landscaping due to start in early 2015.
- Flood defence works at Coburg.
Marc Devereux, Senior Engineer at Wicklow County Council said, “I am very pleased that phase 2 of the scheme has already started. The main objective of this scheme is to protect our town and it’s people. I would like to acknowledge the support and input from the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has been invaluable. Throughout this project the Municipal District of Bray, Wicklow County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) aim to keep the town and particularly residents living near the Dargle River, fully informed of the schemes progress at every stage”.
We will increase our communication output, driving awareness while making sure that these updates are easily accessible including:
- Issuing a quarterly newsletter by post and online.
- Having a dedicated page on www.bray.ie, which will be updated regularly with the schemes latest news, answering your questions and scheme photographs.
- Social media engagement on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
“We particularly welcome your comments or questions and as a team we look forward to answering them,” concluded Marc Devereux.
Notes to Editor:
The Flood Defence Scheme involves the widening and deepening of the river channel and the construction of walls and embankments along a 3.3km stretch from Silverbridge at the N11 to the Harbour Bridge at Bray Harbour.
The River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme is required to protect both property, but more importantly, potential loss of lives in Little Bray. The combination of the low lying nature of Little Bray vis a vis the River Dargle, the large number of single storey houses, and the presence of a large proportion of elderly people living in these houses, makes this a high risk area.
Major structural works include widening the channel downstream of Bray Bridge along the golf course just before the DART Bridge, installation of a culvert on the north side of Bray Bridge creating, in effect, an “extra arch” in the bridge to allow for a greater volume of water. River Bank stabilisation works in areas from Bray Bridge upstream past the peoples’ park and bed widening and adaptation works in the Slang area.
A range of landscape treatments in and adjacent to the river is proposed to mitigate the impacts of the scheme on the local environment along the river corridor.
When fully implemented, the Flood Defence Scheme will greatly reduce the risk of flooding in the town of Bray and thus improve public safety and protect public and private property.
The scheme is estimated to cost in the region of €40 million. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is providing funding for the scheme.
As of November 2014 it is estimated that around 35% of the overall flood protection scheme has been completed so far.
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