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Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands
Date 2007
Event ID 929422
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/929422
South Breakwater
The first South Breakwater, nearly 800 ft long, was constructed under the superintendence of Gibb in consultation with Telford in 1812 to further restrict the channel and to protect the second North Pier extension. This work, which was successful, also increased the depth of the channel.
From 1870–73, as part of harbour entrance improvements, further protection from south-easterly gales was considered necessary particularly during construction of the third extension to the North Pier which was about to start.
Under Cay’s direction, a new South Breakwater was constructed of mass Portland cement concrete which in the lower part of the structure was ingeniously deposited from hoppers into bags each containing up to 100 tons ofconcrete. Above this level construction was achieved by means of large concrete blocks, the whole pier being 1050 ft long with a maximum height of 47 ft and a 62 ft high concrete lighthouse at the end. Divers prepared the sea bed before the bags were deposited. The effectiveness
of the pier during a storm in ca.1910 can be seen in the view. The seaward 500 ft of the old breakwater was removed in ca.1873.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
