The transformation of the East Tip of Haulbowline Island has been voted national Engineering Project of the Year for 2019, it has been announced.
About Haulbowline Island Transformation
The remediation project, delivered on time and under budget, has seen 22-acres of the island’s East Tip transformed from a desolate, toxic, industrial site into a magnificent public recreational facility for local residents, workers and visitors in what has been one of the biggest environmental works in the history of the State.
The site at Haulbowline Island in Co Cork, formerly the home of Irish Steel, has been used for waste disposal for decades, with an estimated 650,000 cubic metres of slag and other waste metal from the steelworks deposited on the site from the 1960s until steel making ended at the plant in 2001. Adopting the most innovative and customised engineering solutions throughout to overcome many challenges, the East Tip now boasts new playing pitches, walkways, cycleways, seating areas and the planting of hundreds of trees, woodlands and wildflower areas.
Undertaken by Cork County Council, RPS, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the project won out in the flagship category of the tenth annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards, held in association with ESB, at a ceremony in the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin. The Engineering Project of the Year category is sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and is voted for by a panel of judges and the public.
Speaking at the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards 2019 about the development, Dr Cormac Ó Súilleabháin, the Project’s Manager from Cork County Council, said: “This was an immensely challenging project considering the extensive risks presented by the uniqueness of the site, nature and characteristics of the waste material involved, and location within Cork Harbour. However, despite all this, the project was delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner and very much provides a template for the successful delivery of transformative public sector projects. Cork Harbour has been transformed by the remediation of the East Tip, and we believe this is a great civil and environmental engineering achievement. It’s great to see this recognised by Engineers Ireland and we are very appreciative of this award this evening.”
Click here to view video footage of the transformation of the East Tip of Haulbowline Island.
The East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project was also awarded the ‘Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award’, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions, and with two awards in this category, this award was jointly won by Cork City Council, Keating and Arup for the Mary Elmes Bridge project.