Construction has been completed on the £21 million Sheffield Lower Don Valley flood defence project. As lead designer, Mott MacDonald provided civil, structural and geotechnical engineering services on the scheme on behalf of Sheffield City Council and the Environment Agency.
Lower Don Valley is a critical economic area for Sheffield, second only to the city centre. The area was devastated by flooding in 2007, with hundreds of millions of pounds of damage caused. Businesses and infrastructure were also heavily disrupted, while the local population was put at significant risk.
Stretching 8km along the River Don, the new flood defences comprise 51 elements of work. The 51 interventions include over 1.8km of new brickwork and concrete river wall, two earth embankments and treatment of approximately 600 culverts and pipes that connect into the river. The completed scheme will benefit over 500 businesses, safeguarding approximately 5000 jobs. It will also protect key roads in and out of the city and homes along five miles of the river.
Bryan Penny, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: “The whole team is immensely proud of what has been achieved on the Lower Don Valley project. We used innovative survey techniques and methods for collating the large volume of data, such as early adoption of LiDAR point cloud and aerial drone surveys. Additionally, close collaboration with all the scheme’s stakeholders led to the efficient delivery of the project which will bring massive benefits to the city.”
Councillor Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council, commented: “This project is the beginning of our commitment to preventing any future devastation. In the coming months and years, we will be doing more work to ensure that we reduce the risk of floods and protect residents, homes and businesses across Sheffield.”
Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency chief executive, added: “Flooding has devastating costs for people and businesses and we know this has been the case for the people of Sheffield. This fantastic scheme will not only benefit homes and businesses in the city but it will also safeguard thousands of jobs due to the increased level of protection it provides.”