CAN Geotechnical has deployed a specialist team to work on Brighton chalk cliffs to tackle rockfalls and make the area safe
CAN Geotechnial undertake ground engineering, structural installation and maintenance within the construction and civil engineering sectors across the UK.
CAN is working with RSK Geosciences and is carrying out the work for FM Conway as part of a project for Brighton and Hove City Council.
The work on the cliff began on 20 February and was paused on 7 April, with 50% of the project complete.
CAN Geotechnical project manager Andy Pope said: “Our work here involves a two-pronged approach. The first priority is to make the area safe by identifying and removing any loose material (chalk and flints), which we are achieving by using light hand-scaling tools on an area of about 5000 metres.
“Once this has been completed, we will be carrying out a geotechnical inspection, which will provide a detailed report on the condition of the chalk face to give an informed assessment of the area.”
He added: “In terms of technical and safety considerations for a project like this, we’ve had to align our rigging at the crest to allow for the constant movement of ropes (two 50-metre ropes for each operative), which is essential to hand scale the cliff face.
“For our rigging, we are using 4×4 vehicles and 8T excavators. This means that, instead of installing anchors 660 millimetres deep into the chalk cliff tops, CAN operatives have used purposely immobilised 4×4 vehicles and the excavators to create rigging that is both safe and efficient, with minimal disruption to this sensitive environment.”
