19 February 2019
Work on the French Harbour boardwalk has been completed, meaning that a walking and cycling route now runs from St Aubin to Havre des Pas.
The boardwalk’s construction has been part of a project to link the promenades so that pedestrians, cyclists and mobility scooter users can travel between the west and east of the island on the harbourside without needing to cross the road or re-join traffic, or walk down and up tidal slipways.
Comprehensive stakeholder and community consultations took place to make sure that the heritage of the historic harbours was considered in the works, and to minimise disruption for harbour users.
The work started in October last year and involved several complex stages, including removing contaminated soil, stabilising of part of the harbour wall, and building foundations below sea-level (marine piling).
Despite the project’s complexities, contractor Brenwal, who were selected to carry out the project following a competitive tender process, completed the works within the £565,000 budget, and within the scheduled timeframe.
Jamie Roberts, Brenwal’s Contract Manager, said: “This has been a unique and challenging project with many complexities that we had to take into consideration. We not only needed to minimise disruption for motorists and harbour users, but we also had to plan our work to suit the tides and to meet heritage requirements.
“Working collaboratively has been key to this project’s success, and I would like to thank port and road users for their cooperation and patience during the works. Brenwal are proud to have created a structure that improves safety for walking and cycling, and which is something that both locals and tourists can enjoy.”
The boardwalk was opened at the beginning of this week, and the northbound lane of Le Quai aux Marchands, the main road to La Collette from Commercial Buildings, which was closed during the project, is now fully open to traffic.
Islanders are thanked for their patience during the time is has taken to complete project.
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