Case study · utilities & towpath works
Electricity poles
by water.
A single barge-mounted operation delivered, drilled, installed and removed electricity poles where road-based plant could not reach the River Lee towpath.
The project
One vessel.
Four operations.
The project required old electricity poles beside the River Lee to be replaced. This work would normally be carried out from a road vehicle fitted with a hydraulic auger, but the canal towpath did not offer suitable vehicle access.
WHH treated the waterway as both the access route and the working platform. A HIAB barge was adapted to carry an auger and handle the long, awkward pole sections, with a pusher tug moving the complete operation between work locations.
The same marine spread could bring new poles to the workface, drill the foundations, place the poles and carry the redundant units away.
The constraint
Road-based plant
could not reach.
The method had to address the full working environment:
- Restricted vehicle access along the towpath
- Long pole sections requiring controlled handling
- Foundation drilling at multiple waterside locations
- New and redundant poles moving through the same corridor
The WHH response
A method built
around the site.
Vessels, plant and movements were combined around the project sequence rather than treated as separate hire items.
Adapted HIAB barge
The crane barge was configured to carry and operate the hydraulic auger required for the pole foundations.
Waterborne delivery
New poles travelled directly to each work location without relying on continuous towpath vehicle access.
Controlled handling
The same HIAB handled the poles through removal and installation, keeping the operation within one coordinated system.
Return logistics
Redundant poles were loaded to the barge and removed by water as the work progressed.
The result
The canal became
the access solution.
One HIAB barge and pusher tug completed the delivery, drilling, installation and removal sequence at the workface.
Combining plant and logistics on a single marine platform reduced interfaces and demonstrated how standard utility work can be redesigned around a constrained waterside corridor.
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