Business Central December 2021

Brian Perry Civil (BPC) is bringing its expertise in piling and marine structures to CentrePort’s Seaview Wharf project, proud to be delivering this critical infrastructure upgrade to serve the Wellington region for the next 30 years. Lee Griffiths, BPC’s Project Manager, says the project is a perfect fit for the company. “We’ve built a reputation for high performance, innovation, and quality delivering complex civil engineering projects like this since 1954. BPC specialises in three waters and foundations works and our inhouse expertise covers piling, marine structures, and wharves.” BPC has worked for many months with CentrePort and Holmes Consulting to develop a plan that is sensitive to the project’s requirements and delivers the goal of improving the resilience of fuel delivery to Wellington. Three ‘dolphins’ will be constructed to both support the existing wharf structure in a seismic event and to withstand increased berthing loads. The dolphins range from 8m square to 16 x 8m. “We’ll be using precast units wherever possible to expedite the construction works,” Lee says. “The dolphins each sit atop 1500mm diameter piles, which are up to 30+ metres long. We’ll also be upgrading the current approach bridge to reach Proud to be delivering for the region the main wharf and delivering upgrades to the berthing system. The project comes with some significant challenges. The site is based on a rock reef which dissects the Hutt Valley aquifer, so any construction methodology needs to ensure that there are no negative impacts on this critical lifeline. Secondly, the Seaview fuel terminal must be able to stay operational while all the construction is going on. Again, there can be no negative impacts on this critical lifeline. Thirdly, there’s Wellington’s challenging weather. “The weather can be particularly brutal at Seaview,” Lee says, “so all our construction needs to be robust enough to withstand the swells generated from the northwester and southerly winds.” These challenges come on top of the usual ones when working over water. BPC has a Zero Harm approach to safety on its sites, to protect both its people and everyone we are working around. “We also aim high with our approach to environmental protection,” Lee says. “We’ll be working closely with the experts to minimise our impact on the marine environment. We’re very aware of the needs of the Little Blue Penguins that live along the Seaview coastline and we’re focussed on protecting them, especially during the critical breeding period.” BRIAN PERRY CIVIL SOUTHERN REGION +64 4 232 9442 35 Takapu Rd, Grenada North, Wellington PO Box 51269, Wellington 5249