Nuclear
Costain is leading on the development of two major projects at Hinkley Point C:
Jetty
Costain are constructing a 490m long jetty stretching out into the Bristol Channel, which will be used to import aggregate from ships, via a conveyor system into the HPC site. The aggregate will feed the four batching plants that will be used to produce nuclear grade concrete, thus avoiding many thousands of road vehicle deliveries. The jetty consists of eighty steel tubular piles, the largest of which are 3.6m diameter, 36m long and weigh approximately 140 tonnes. Two jack-up barges are being used to install the piles and steelwork for the jetty, including innovative eight-legged ‘Wave Walker 1’ that can ‘walk’ up the foreshore and work throughout the tidal range.
Marine
Costain will be constructing the main cooling water tunnels and associated sea bed structures along with onshore connecting galleries. Pre-cast components will be fabricated off site (at Avonmouth). Three large tunnel boring machines (TBM’s) will be used to create the 9 km of tunnels under the Severn Estuary.