Pilings link for a fine duet

Secant wall piling goes into place during the œ150 million redevelopment of London's Royal Opera House at Covent Garden.

The wall was formed by a series of interlocking piles to create a watertight barrier. It was constructed by the continuous flight auger method, first with primary 900mm bored (female) piles followed by secondary (male) piles spaced at 750 centres cutting into the female piles at either side.

Due to the large retained height of the wall and because reinforcement of the female pile cannot project into the area of secanting, it was necessary to use the universal beams as primary reinforcement.

The 230t of universal beams were supplied by BSD Dartford. Bachy Group, under the management of Schal Construction Management, has completed the first phase of its foundations contract.