Eday pier defects ‘more widespread than first thought’

Faults in Eday pier are “more widespread than first thought,” Orkney Islands Council (OIC) has confirmed.

Further inspections of the structure have allowed the council to increase the maximum tonnage of vehicle allowed on the pier, but it has emerged that “significant work” will be required in the near future.

A weight restriction on vehicles using the pier was introduced on Friday, October 24, after issues were discovered on the underside of its concrete deck.

Last week, Orkney Islands Council’s (OIC) deputy harbourmaster, David Sawkins, described the damage to the structure as “quite severe.”  

North Isles councillor Stephen Clackson told The Orcadian that the problems in Eday vindicate his view that OIC should be focusing on improving “critical infrastructure” rather than prioritising “speculative” projects — like the proposed Scapa Deep Water Quay.

Now further inspections have found that the problems with the pier are worse than expected, and “significant work” will be required in the near future.

Recent underside inspections of the pier found that the lower sections of concrete beneath the suspended deck — constructed in the 1970s – was de-laminated, with parts of the concrete cover having broken away.

This has exposed parts of the reinforcement steel, which had corroded, leading to concerns about the load bearing capacity over this section of the pier.

Follow up inspections have found that the weight restriction — which is the restriction across the whole suspended pier structure — can be increased to a maximum of 26 tonnes (gross vehicle weight).

OIC says this will allow activities such as livestock movements, fuel deliveries and large deliveries of food and goods to the island to resume.

North Isles councillor, Mellissa Thomson, said that the use of the pier was an “integral part of life in Eday.”

She added: “Restrictions around vehicle movements could have caused a real long-term headache and a considerable impact on the Eday community, but the swift and pragmatic assessment from our teams and contractors has avoided the situation from continuing for too long.

“Focus can now shift to a longer-term fix. It is of course a disappointment to hear that the problems are more widespread than first thought, but I am confident in the team’s ability to deliver a solution.”