March came in like a lamb, and out like the proverbial lion, even so………

Progress in the past month has been good, helped by the spell of clement weather.

The six new piles for the Visitor Centre have been installed and trimmed to the required level.  Each pile is a 23 metres long, 610mm diameter steel tube filled with steel reinforcement and concrete.  Between them, they will support the load of the 600 tonne building.

The steelwork structure on the piles which will complete the foundation is now being put in place.  Two cranes are being.  The larger (7.5 tonne) will lift the steel sections whilst the smaller will lift a ‘man rider’ which will carry the steel erectors out so the steelwork can be fixed into place.

The steelwork is high grade, galvanised with fully bolted connections to form the trusses. These trusses are then linked together and braced to form a rigid structure.  A concrete slab will be cast at deck level to form the base for the new “cross laminated timber” panelled building.

Elsewhere on the Pier work has continued with the replacement of trusses and deck beams and laying the  Ekki timber decking.  This has been completed to the end of the central section of the Pier and work is now progressing on the Pier Head.
When the restoration work is finished approximately 350 trusses and 820 deck beams will have been replaced, this is around 3,000 tonnes of new steel.

Work on the old Pavilion continues. The walls are being built and the windows and sliding doors installed.

Underneath the Pier there will be a suspended walkway which will provide access not only to install the services and but also for the future maintenance, and the first section has now been built.