Case study Port of Great Yarmouth heavy duty concrete block pavements

The Project The Port of Great Yarmouth when fully operational will be a modern, multi-purpose facility integrating a new deep water outer harbour with the well established river port. The port will become a key container terminal for lorry freight traffic between continental Europe and the UK, particularly the Midlands. Cullen Grummitt & Roe were appointed as the client representative to undertake the design and supervision of the work in recognition of their worldwide experience of container port design and construction. The new harbour consists of two breakwaters with a total length of approximately 1,400m, these required the importation of approximately 900,000 tons of rock and aggregate material. Dredging of the sea bed within the harbour basin was required which generated approximately 1,600,000m of sand. This was subsequently used for land reclamation work within the new harbour area. Finally 450m of quay wall, with associated capping beam and crane rail, were constructed as well as 225m of revetment berth and associated berthing dolphins. Heavy Duty Pavements To service the port, back reach areas were also required and Carillion plc was appointed as one of the civil engineering contractors to develop this section of the project. This involved the construction of significant areas of quayside heavy duty pavement which would provide durable working yard space for container storage. When designing pavements for this type of application consideration was also given to the volume and loading of the traffic, future growth, maintenance as well as to the long term durability of the pavement structure.

Having reviewed the potential surfacing systems available, Cullen Grummitt and Roe concluded that concrete block paving would offer the most significant benefits when compared to other materials. The advantages of concrete block pavements include: Unaffected by oil spillage Endures heavy loads in excess of normal lorry axle loads Can tolerate settlement and differential settlement Easier to repair than concrete pavements Superior performance to flexible pavements Conventional small element concrete block paving in the UK is most typically rectangular in shape and this type of paver can been seen in use on numerous commercial paving projects including container yards. Cullen Grummitt and Roe specified that a 16 sided shaped interlocking block would be required on the project which would offer a more durable solution in comparison to rectangular blocks in similar applications. The elastic modulus of the 16 sided interlocking blocks is higher than the equivalent rectangular pavers and is proven to generate a stronger pavement surface interlock, a key benefit in achieving structural integrity. Tolly Paving were appointed by Carillion plc as the paving sub-contractor to install the wearing surface of the heavy duty pavements. In order to comply with the stringent project specification and meet the demanding site programme Tolly Paving as part of their sub-contract tender submission, proposed machine laying the blocks as opposed to traditional hand lay methods.

Port of Great Yarmouth - heavy duty concrete block pavements

The Solution When this project started no UK block paving manufacturer had a product available in their range to meet the required specification in a machine lay format. Tolly Paving approached Brett Landscaping about manufacturing the shaped blocks for this contract. Despite being faced with tight programme deadlines Brett Landscaping offered to work with Tolly Paving to find a solution that would meet these requirements. Brett Landscaping, through their knowledge of heavy duty pavements, product development and their flexible manufacturing capabilities were able to fast track a product that would fully comply with the requirements of the product specification. This product became known as Zeta Lock and was launched in 2009. Zeta Lock harnessed the technology of similarly available interlocking pavers but the nib configuration was enhanced to ensure that no block-to-block contact, which could result in localised spalling of the block surface, was possible when installed.

Packaging and Environmental Impact The paving was supplied on heavy duty recyclable timber pallets that were returned to the factory. This utilised delivery vehicles that would otherwise have returned to the Brett Landscaping works empty. The returned pallets were thus made available for re-use. All of the plastic shrink wrapping used to secure the blocks to the pallets was quarantined and then returned to Brett Landscaping for recycling.

Full Block

Closure Block

Half Block

This served to minimise the chances of the wrapping littering the site and damaging the local environment. It also negated the need for on-site skips and avoided the material being disposed of as land fill. Jointing Material The joints between concrete block pavers are filled with a specially designed kiln dried sand that is compliant with BS 7533-3: 2005. This standard requires that jointing sand meets a particular particle size distribution - but it does not specify particle shape. As a result most commonly available compliant sands have spherical particle shapes. Experience has shown that this type of sand can be readily removed from the joints under heavy traffic action. To prevent this problem occurring Tolly Paving used a special jointing material from Brett Specialised Aggregates on this project. This material has been developed specifically for this type of application and is comprised of kiln dried sand made from crushed angular particles. This angularity gives superior locking performance compared to the more commonly used jointing materials and prevents removal from the joints under the action of heavy traffic. Project Management The cornerstone to the success of this contract was the commitment given by, and working relationships between, the four key organisations responsible for ensuring compliance to the contractual requirements. The evolution of the project from design and specification, through to the supply and installation of the concrete block pavers and jointing material, was co-ordinated in such a way as to ensure that all the contractual obligations were fully met to the satisfaction of the client.

In order to improve installation efficiency and minimise the need to cut blocks at edge restraints, Zeta Lock was developed to include two purpose made accessories; the half block for pattern completion and the closure block for abutting the block pavement to a straight edge. The specification also required that the blocks needed to have higher strength and abrasion properties than the benchmark values for concrete block paving performance outlined in BS EN 1338: 2003. Brett Landscaping demonstrated through working with the Project Team that all aspects of the design, manufacture and installation of the Zeta Lock blocks would meet the stringent contractual requirements of the Great Yarmouth project.

COMMERCIAL SUPPORT Please do not hesitate to contact Brett Commercial Support on 0845 60 80 579 for assistance. Our highly trained team are always happy to help if you require further information on any of our products and services - including swatches and samples, installation techniques or expert on-site assistance. ACCREDITED CPD SERVICE Brett offer a range of RIBA accredited CPD presentations. Contact Brett Commercial Support for more information. NBS PLUS SPECIFICATIONS NBS Plus Specifications are available on request from Brett Commercial Support. OTHER BRETT PRODUCTS Brett manufactures and supplies a wide range of landscaping products for both commercial and domestic applications. Call us for more information or advice on standard, made to order or bespoke products. STOCKISTS The majority of our products are available throughout the United Kingdom from our established network of stockists. Contact Brett Commercial Support to locate your local stockist.

Brett Landscaping Sileby Road Barrow upon Soar Loughborough Leicestershire LE12 8LX Commercial Support Phone: 0845 60 80 579 Fax: 0845 60 80 575 www.brett.co.uk/landscaping