Balfour Beatty, currently working on the £86 million coastal defense schemes in the North West of England, recently welcomed the youngsters of Northfield Primary School to the Rossall site.
The Rossall scheme will greatly reduce the risk of flooding to the local community, through constructing two kilometers of coastal defense from Rossall Hospital to Rossall Point.
Simon Barker, Project Director at Balfour Beatty , said: “ Through our work with the school, the children have been able to learn about the role of sea defenses in protecting homes and businesses across Lancashire. We hope they will be able to share their experience with their families, and that some of these budding engineers will be inspired to follow a career in engineering. ”
To date around 166,000 tonnes of rock have been placed in both the lower revetment and groynes. 1,676 linear meters of steel piles have been installed, over 700 precast concrete units including access steps, wave walls, rear walls and revetment units are in place and 241,000 tonnes of rock have been imported.
James Rochester, Class 6 teacher at Northfold Primary School , said: “ Class 6 have been learning about how coastlines change over time, so visiting Rossall provided amazing first hand insight and the chance to observe the defenses gradually taking shape was fascinating. ”
In total, around 325,000 tonnes of rock armor will be needed to create the base of the defenses, to weather the harsh conditions on this exposed part of the coastline and allow the beach to build up in the area.