The Glasgow Circular 450mm high pressure pipeline presently uses the Erskine Bridge at Old Kilpatrick to cross the River Clyde. SGN has brought in Murphy to construct an alternate crossing so that the bridge pipelines can be decommissioned.
The Murphy team will use horizontal directional drilling (HDD) and micro tunnelling to install the new pipeline across the 1km-stretch underneath the river. The works are due to begin on site in mid-February 2018.
The river bed is set on abrasive bedrock, boulders, and steep angles at the riverbank, presenting technical challenges. In addition to this crossing the river the pipeline will also cross a canal, a railway and a water main before crossing the A82 road and tying into the existing above ground installation (AGI).
Murphy chief executive John Murphy said of the contract win: “This is an excellent achievement by both our work winning and operations’ team. We’ve been supported greatly by our in-house engineering team who’ve ‘better engineered’ solutions to tough challenges throughout the tender process.”
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