The Challenge:

Provide safe, under-pier access for Fulton Hogan crews to carry our earthquake repairs to 17 support columns for New Brighton Pier.

Mitigate project risk due to weather and sea conditions. Maintain public access to the pier for the project duration.

The Detail:

New Brighton’s iconic 300m long pier was damaged in the earthquakes of 2011.

To repair the columns Fulton Hogan needed full access under the pier to install caissons (water-tight retaining structures) around the damaged columns to create a work area for repair work to begin.

The solution involved six stages, with multiple adaptations at each stage.

Upright built an under-pier access platform that spanned 4.5m across two fixed hanging scaffolds. This provided access to the centre of the caisson to bolt it together. The platform, in fact, was four single, hinged platforms, one fixed to each corner of the hanging scaffold. Built using Layher Allround components, hinged on a specially engineered pin, each platform rotated 270 degrees into and out of position.

The solution provided secure, gated access the full span of the pier. It gave Fulton Hogan crews access to a tight workspace within the Caisson to remove damaged concrete, expose the reinforcing steel and complete repairs.