Mott MacDonald Ireland for N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Development.

The N22 Baile Bhuirne to Macroom Road Development is a significant piece of national infrastructure. The project involved the construction of 22 km of dual carriageway on the N22 national primary route between Cork and Tralee, including four major river crossings and 108 structures. The consultant engineers were commissioned to act as Technical Advisor to Cork County Council to deliver this key civil infrastructure project for the south-west region. The completed project provides measurable benefits including accident reduction, reduced carbon emissions and a reduction in journey times. The submission demonstrates excellence in the delivery of a major civil engineering project. The project is an exemplar in this field of civil engineering and utilised new technologies for carbon benchmarking for the construction stage.

The project is a 400,000 PE upgrade of Ringsend WwTP using innovative Aerobic Activated Sludge (AGS) technology. The AGS system avoided the need for a 9km long sea outfall thus saving close to €1billion in public funds. It includes a 110m*36m*20m Main Reactor Block on piled foundations in poor ground and a 15m*10m*6m deep Expansion Lift Pump Station above buried structures. The upgrade treats 2,5000 l/s of high quality effluent. In addition to providing major environmental improvement to Dublin Bay, the project unleashes significant development potential in the Capital City.

The project involved the fast-track design and construction of a new Orthopaedic Operating Theatre Block consisting of two, state of the art, Orthopaedic Theatres, with patient recovery bays, staff accommodation and ancillary spaces constructed over two levels, with healthcare function at ground floor level and plant space overhead on the upper floor. Commissioned by the HSE on a fast-track basis following water damage to its existing facilities, the scheme includes 650m2 of space in a highly serviced healthcare building with provision for a future third theatre.

Work took place in a live hospital environment where there was no interruption to the existing services. Upgrades were undertaken, in advance of the main project, on the existing site infrastructure as enabling works to allow all the necessary tie-ins, upgrades and diversions to be carried out before the main project began. These advances works and forward planned, reduced the overall program length, minimising the project risks and eliminate any safety concerns. The design adhered to the highest patient safety requirements and to the most current Healthcare Standards & Guidelines.

An Irish Water priority project entailing the replacement of pumps and switchgear in a critical element of Dublin’s wastewater infrastructure, where a system failure could result in almost immediate city flooding. The works included installing six new foul pumps, at five floors below ground level, with each pump handling three tonnes of wastewater per second. The work had to take account of very high inflows, confined spaces and a high risk of flooding whilst minimising operational disruption. Energy efficiency was an important consideration with the upgrade saving energy, reducing CO2 emissions and providing a more reliable plant.