PROJECT NOTES
A major project aimed at reintegrating Dublin Port Centre with its environs has just been completed to widespread acclaim. Wills Bros Ltd. Civil Engineering Contractors, were Main Contractors for the project which aimed to soften the boundaries between the Port and the City of Dublin, as committed to in the organisation’s masterplan.
ABOVE: L-R, James Kelleher, Project Manager for Dublin Port Company and John Cunningham, Contracts Manager, Wills Bros Ltd.
Wills Bros create new public realm facilities at Dublin Port
W
ills Bros Ltd, which was established in 1972, has extensive experience in major civil engineering projects across Ireland and the UK, having completed schemes for private companies (pharmaceutical & blue-chip tech), energy providers and local authorities. Contracts Manager John Cunningham told Construction Management Ireland how the scope of work at the Port included some 13 elements including the installation of a new walkway bridge leading from the podium at
Port Centre to a new landscaped maritime garden with seating to the south and a new car park. One of the most striking additions here comes in the form of an historic 10-tonne Stothert & Pitt crane, formerly known as ‘Crane 292’ which dates from c.1968 and was in use up until the late 1990s. Crane 292 is set to become an iconic landmark in the area. Reassembled and illuminated at the junction of East Wall Road as a feature crane opposite Sheriff Street, the 35m structure is taller than Port Centre, the building designed by Scott
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Tallon Walker and opened in 1981.
Crane enclosure Another striking feature in this area is the crane enclosure to crane 292 which features a Corten steel multi-faceted wall facing towards East Wall road. Dublin Port lettering is imprinted on the steel and there is also a pattern drilled out and revealed by means of a light shining to the rear. BA Steel Fabrication Ltd did the Corten Steel and forming of patterns here. Notably, the steel used is the same material that