Hull Tidal Barrier

Upgrades to the Hull Tidal Barrier

Hull Tidal Surge Barrier

Weighing-in at just over 200 tonnes and protected by Grade II Listed status, The Hull Tidal Surge Barrier is a vital flood defence, protecting thousands of properties in Hull and the surrounding area from seasonal flood events. The 30-meter-wide gate is supported between two towers that house its operating machinery.

Qualter Hall was awarded the initial design order by the Environment Agency in April 2008, to develop an integrated design solution and target price for the total replacement of the Barrier drive mechanism.

The main objectives of the project were to provide a robust and reliable design with a greater level of redundancy in the event of either equipment or power failure.

What work was done by Qualter Hall at the Hull Tidal Surge Barrier?

Developed a robust and reliable design with built-in safeguards to mitigate any equipment or power failures.
Works commenced on site in April 2009 to carry out repair/replacement of mechanical equipment fitted to the gate, and pre-installation of a new gate latching mechanism.
During the same outage in the low flood risk season, the gate and ancillary structures were fully painted in line with the existing colour scheme.
New equipment was fully assembled and tested at our facility in Barnsley, prior to installation on site. A full mock-up of the plant rooms was built in our factory to ensure that the equipment fitted within the restricted space confines of the structure.
Final critical path installation commenced May 2010 for a 9 week period. The Barrier had to be deployable in manual mode after 41 days, with the remaining outage period being used to complete works associated with automatic operation. Due to the critical nature of the works involved, all site activities were carried out by Qualter Hall personnel on a 24 hour/7 day per week basis.
After completion of installation, extensive site acceptance testing was carried out to check and prove all functions prior to formal training of the client’s operational and maintenance personnel.
The contract included the provision of a 3 year maintenance period after commissioning. The Environment Agency extended this via the regional framework contractor. Qualter Hall is still providing specialist maintenance services for this asset in 2024.

How does the Hull Tidal Surge Barrier Work?

When high tides are predicted, the gate is lowered into the River Hull to control the flow of water from the Humber. The gate can be deployed within 30 minutes of a flood warning, it locks into a sill which is built into the river bed.

A hydraulic drive proposal was developed for each tower, linked by a synchronising cross shaft, to enable the barrier to be operated independently from each drive assembly. A hydraulic retarder system is also incorporated, to enable the lowering of the gate in a controlled manner in the event of both mains and generator power failure.

The Hull Tidal Barrier is closed about 12 times a year and has protected the city from the effects of more than 30 high tidal surges since it opened in April 1980. A report published by the Environment Agency after the £10M refurbishment of the gate in 2010 said that “without it a high surge tide would result in damages to Hull in excess of £230M with the flooding of 17,000 homes.”

Qualter Hall were instrumental in making this exceedingly complex project a success. They understood the importance of strong commercial control with good health and safety performance. There was a good appreciation of the client's needs, a refreshing ownership of issues and a willingness to work with the integrated team to deliver a top-class job.