Quay 1071

35 000 m² diaphragm wall

• 1071 linear meter
• 143 panels, each 7.5 m long
• 1200 mm thick
• 32.5 m deep
• 42 000 m³ concrete
• 2400 tons reinforcement cages

Equipment used:

• Bauer GB 50 grab carrier with hydraulic grab
• Liebherr HS 8130 crawler crane with mechanical grab
• Sennebogen 643 crawler crane
• Liebherr LR1160 crawler crane

Quay 1071 is located at the Southern Canal Dock, in the inner port of Zeebrugge and extends the existing Bastenaken quay to create the largest dock in the port of Zeebrugge.
It connects the existing Bastenaken quay with the dock’s end.

Building a quay wall is as always a real challenge. Once the dock has been adapted to accommodate ships with a draft of 16 m, the diaphragm wall will withstand the pressure of not less than 21 metres of earth.

But this work site also has its very specific challenges: 

• Deep foundations is all about geotechnics and the nature of the soil here is not the easiest, consisting of a very dense layer of sand with many large obstacles. Hydraulic grab was not an option everywhere, so we also used a mechanical grab to dig the trenches for the panels. 
• The very high water level required us to raise the platform level.
• Logistically, we had to create 2 250 m³ of artificial pools for the bentonite reserves, and use more than 2 500 metres of pipes to connect the bentonite plant to the digging areas.
• Last but not least, our 1200 mm thick diaphragm wall needs to connect to an existing 1000 mm quay wall.

Keeping a high work rhythm in such conditions is possible only thanks to the very hard work of the team. 
And above all, they have made their work site a model of safety and tidiness. So cheers to them!