KTL installs four 110kV towers and one 400Kv end mast tower in Co. Laois

KTL collaborates with a leading electricity company to install four 110kV towers and one 400Kv end mast tower in Co. Laois. The project involved three stages:

· Stage one: to install three new 110kV towers for a diversion.

· Stage two: to install a 400kV end mast foundation.

· Stage three: to install a second 110kV end mast foundation.

This project came with various challenges. KTL employed both an ecologist and an archaeologist. This was to comply with the planning regulation as set out in the Construction and Environmental Management Plan (CEMP).

For the excavation works, an archaeologist was on site to inspect the groundworks, and this was done routinely before any excavation work took place. All excavations were then checked at each point before each subsequent dig.

The ecologist assessed the location and gave recommendations to proceed with a minimal footprint. They also visited regularly to inspect the KTL methods to ensure they were aligned to CEMP.

David Hughes, KTL Project Manager said, “We used sheet piles for the excavations on the 400kV tower foundations. This was to keep our footprint minimal. The sheet piles were installed, and this allowed us to excavate all four legs making it safe for the civils crews to start tying steel ready for concrete to be poured in stages. This was time-consuming but was essential to the success of the Project.”

The excavated soil was surrounded by a silt trap to avoid runoff from exposed spoil heaps. We used water pumps to empty the excavation of the water present, and this was pumped through a sediment tank to allow clean water back into the field.

Safety barriers were erected around the excavations with access platforms for entry into the excavation. The use of a 100t crane was needed to lift the base into position before the steel tying and concrete pours for the foundations could take place. Our highly skilled staff maneuvered the base into position in two halves.

There was also a high priority on biodiversity conservation – “we wanted zero adverse impact on the flora and fauna in this area”, said Hughes.

Environmental checks were done every day and numerous audits were conducted to keep the impact on the land to an utter minimum. We kept the work area to a minimum so as not to disturb the nature around us. The ground was reinstated to allow the area to wholly regenerate.

“We closely collaborated with the client to ensure this project ran smoothly and effectively. We communicated regularly with the client and together with KTL’s highly experienced team to come up with solutions to the many challenges we faced and did our utmost to drive the project forward. It was also forefront that we left the environment the same way we found it and we ensured every effort was done to achieve this,” said Hughes.

To find out more about KTL services, visit https://www.ktl.ie/services

Tags: David Hughes, 100Kv tower, 400Kv end mast, CEMP