Author: Terri Kelleher

Sorensen Civil Engineering Ltd would like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas🎄

📢 We’re Hiring!

We have exciting opportunities to join our team in the Munster region.

The N73 Annakisha Road Improvement Scheme Project was successfully completed and reopened to the public last Friday, November 22nd.

The contract entailed realignment of a section of the N73 between Cooldurragha and Powerstown (approximately 7km east of Mallow), realignment of local road junctions, combined pedestrian/cycle tracks, construction of new bridge structures, new underpass structures, culverts, earthworks, fencing, drainage, landscaping, and environmental mitigation works.

We’d like to say thank you to our dedicated and experienced site team, who worked hard to deliver this project. We are very grateful to the local community for their cooperation and patience during the works. Thank you to our client Cork County Council along with the team Transport Infrastructure Ireland for their support and collaboration throughout the project.

Sorensen has been awarded two new marine projects in recent weeks in the Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre (FHC), Co. Donegal. We are delivering these two exciting projects on behalf of our valued client, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

The first project is the Killybegs Smooth Point – Breasting Dolphins project which is located adjacent to the new Smooth Point Pier Extension that we successfully completed earlier this year. The proposed works comprise the construction of four breasting dolphins to aid with stern-on berthing against the existing quay wall. The dolphins will be installed perpendicular to the existing quay face to both guide vessels under the berthing operations and secure vessels in a moored condition. Walkways will be provided to connect the dolphins to the quay wall and provide access for mooring crews. Our site team is very familiar with Killybegs FHC and we look forward to working with the DAFM team and all of the stakeholders on this project.

The second project is the Killybegs Passenger Pontoon and Additional Small Craft Harbour Berths project which is located adjacent Blackrock Pier in the Killybegs FHC. The works initially entail the installation of steel tubular piles. New passenger pontoons, harbour pontoons and gangway will then be installed upon completion of the piling works. A new breakwater will be constructed at the entrance to the Basin along with ancillary landside civils works.

Best of luck to the Sorensen marine teams as they commence mobilisation, and site works on both projects in the coming weeks.

What a fantastic turnout for the ‘Dash on the N73’ on Sunday!

The fundraiser run/walk organised by Sorensen and Ballygown National School aimed to raise funds for essential upgrade works to the school facilities and resources. With incredible support from the community, we exceeded all expectations and raised over €25,000! 🎉

A huge thank you to everyone who participated, donated, and contributed to making this event a success. Special thanks to Donncha O’Callaghan for joining us to kick off the event🌟

Our Celtic Interconnector cable installation teams continue to make steady progress pulling the 320 kV DC cables into the 33km ducting route. The specialist cable jointing crews have commenced jointing works on the 400 kV AC section. These jointing works are undertaken in a controlled environment within adapted steel containers placed at the junction bays along the route.

The trenching and ducting teams are advancing steadily along the 320 kV DC cable route, which extends from the Ballyadam site to the landfall at Claycastle Beach in Youghal and they are currently focusing on cable route sections that are off-road.

At the converter station site at Ballyadam, near Carrigtwohill, Siemens Energy have completed the enabling phase and are now progressing the main civil works phase at the site.

A huge congratulations to our Graduate Quantity Surveyors, Luke Kelleher & Ryan Keenan, who both graduated from Munster Technological University! We wish both young men the very best of luck in their careers🎓🎉

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. officially opened the Smooth Point Pier Extension at Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre on 20th September.

The project involved the completion of a new 120m long quay development at Smooth Point, aiming to alleviate congestion during the peak fishing season. The works also included dredging in excess of 10,000 cubic metres of rock from the bed of the harbour.

Well done to the Sorensen site team for co-ordinating the works safely in a very restricted and challenging environment. Thank you to the Employer’s Representative and Designer, Doran Consulting Engineers for their collaboration with Sorensen on this project.

Sorensen joined SSE Renewables Onshore Development & Construction team at their first Community Delivery Event in Glasgow. Over 100 partners were present and there was lots of interaction and discussions on key topics and common challenges.

The event focussed on Safety and how by collectively utilising the power of a community approach we can achieve the goal of getting people home safely. Also, talks focussed on Sustainability, Environmental delivery and showcased the significant pipeline of onshore projects that SSE will be progressing in the near future.

Following the Contract Award for the Tarbert Jetty Repairs Contract by SSE Renewables, the Sorensen Marine Team has wasted no time getting to work. The project entails replacement of the fendering system on the main jetty, complex scaffolding and encapsulation works to allow critical repairs to the steel work on the four existing bridges. The bridges also require sand blasting and paintwork to all steel members. Ancillary works include a full renovation of the Jetty welfare building on the jetty. Fingers crossed for a spell of good weather in the coming weeks!

Our site teams had a great time with our partners Nexans at the summer site BBQ on the Celtic Interconnector.

A big thank you to everyone who helped organize the event and to all who joined us on the day.

Despite the poor weather conditions experienced during the summer, works are progressing well on the Foynes to Limerick Road Contract No. 1 project. These works are part of the first phase of the long-awaited Adare Bypass project. The Sorensen site team has received a warm welcome from the Adare community and project stakeholders.

We are delivering this project on behalf of our client, Limerick City and County Council and the funding authority Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

#TeamSorensen
#RyderCup2027

⭕We are currently seeking an Accounts/Administrative Assistant for a full-time permanent position based in Cork.

💻To learn more, visit: Vacancies | Sorensen

The Sorensen management team wish to acknowledge the great work being done by our student interns across our civil and marine projects. They have all shown a keen interest in their work and have adapted quickly to site environment. Keep up the good work, and enjoy the remainder of your placement. The future is bright at Sorensen!

Sorensen have recently completed our Fender Installation Project at Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s Carlisle Pier, which was delivered in two phases.

The Project consisted of the installation of 17no. new fenders supported on large diameter tubular steel piles. The project has increased the capacity and flexibility of the Harbour for berthing a wide range of vessels.

Thank you to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and RPS for their collaboration on the Project.

Well done to our Marine Team!

Our Annakisha project team, led by Paraic McCarthy, welcomed the Mayor of County Cork, Frank O’Flynn to the project last week. The Mayor was joined by Cork County Council’s Director of Services for Roads & Transportation, Niall Healy and Senior Engineer, Sean Callery, and Senior Executive Engineer, Eddie Murphy. Read what the Mayor had to say about progress on the project by clicking on the link below.

Echo Live article here: https://lnkd.in/ePDffrXQ

Sorensen recently completed a trial section of the South Kerry Greenway located at Mountain Stage Viewpoint, Ring of Kerry, Co Kerry. This greenway will be among the most impressive and spectacular greenways in Europe when it is complete.

The works delivered by Sorensen included:
Site Clearance
Fencing
Earthworks
Raking down and preparing existing rock faces
Installation of rock anchors and retaining mesh for slope stabilisation
Extensive shotcrete works
Retaining wall foundations
Gabion basket retaining walls
Installation of new drainage systems
Construction of Greenway substructure layers
Landscaping and finishing works

We wish to thank the local community and the road-users for their cooperation and patience during the works. Thank you to our client #Kerry County Council, the designer MWP and the funding body Transport Infrastructure Ireland, for their support and collaboration throughout the project. Well done to the Sorensen project team for their efforts in delivering this project safely and on time.

#Greenways
#TeamSorensen

Sorensen recently completed the Smooth Point Pier Extension project at Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre, which we delivered on behalf of our client, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

The project involved the completion of a new 120m long quay development at Smooth Point, aiming to alleviate congestion during the peak fishing season. The works also included dredging in excess of 10,000 cubic metres of rock from the bed of the harbour.

Well done to the site team for co-ordinating the works safely in a very restricted and challenging works area. Thank you to the Employer’s Representative and Designer, Doran Consulting Engineers for the collaboration on this project.

Sorensen wishes to sincerely thank the Killybegs community for their cooperation during the works.

#Marineworks
#TeamSorensen

Minister of State, Kieran O’Donnell, Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr. Gerald Mitchell together with representatives from Sorensen & Limerick City and County Council attended the official opening of Mungret LIHAF Road Stage 2 yesterday.

The project involved the construction of two new link roads with associated infrastructure works. The new link roads will facilitate future housing development and a new school.

We’d like to thank our dedicated site team and our trusted support staff in our head office who all worked extremely hard, in collaboration with Limerick City and County Council and Mott MacDonald, to deliver this vital infrastructure project for the Limerick area.

We are nearing the completion of our R614 Ballyhooly Road Upgrade project in Ballyvolane, Cork City. When complete, this 12-month project will facilitate the construction of 753 new homes on the Longview Estates site which will be a major boost to the area.

We would like to acknowledge the hard work and collaboration on the project by the Sorensen project team, MHL Consulting Engineers design team, the Long View Estates Ltd team and our Client, Housing Infrastructure Services Company (HISCo).

As illustrated by the recent drone photos, the Sorensen Project Team are progressing very well on the N73 Annakisha Road Improvement Scheme.

The structures team are progressing the underpasses, river bridges and culverts. Despite the poor weather recently, our earthworks team is on programme and drainage works are also progressing well.

We would like to acknowledge the hard work and collaboration on the project between the Sorensen project team, RPS design team, our Client, Cork County Council and the funding authority Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

Sorensen Civil Engineering Ltd would like to wish our clients, supply partners and all our loyal staff a very Happy Easter.

In recognition of #WorldWaterDay, we’re sharing footage from our Churchfield Reservoir Roof Replacement project which we recently completed on behalf of our client Uisce Éireann Irish Water.

This reservoir upgrade project consisted of the challenging task of removing and replacing 4,200m² of reinforced concrete roof structure over the 40 mega-litre reservoir. Our trusted supply chain partner, #BannagherPrecastConcrete successfully delivered the replacement precast elements to allow our site team to diligently reconstruct the roof structure.

Despite the obvious challenges, the reservoir remained fully operational, ensuring a continuous supply of drinking water to Cork City.

Giving back to the Community: As part of our community liaison work on our Glashaboy Flood Relief Scheme in Glanmire, members of our site team, accompanied by Ken Leahy of Arup, provided a presentation on the design, construction and ecology aspects of the project to the 2nd year students at Glanmire Community College.

Sorensen’s ecologist, Sorcha Dale spoke about the ecological elements on the project, our liaison officer, Elaine Cronin gave the students an insight into the importance of collaboration with the community and stake holders, and Ken Leahy gave a fascinating account of the design process on this complex flood relief project.

We received a warm welcome from the students and teachers during our visit and would like to thank the school for their hospitality and all the students for taking part. A special mention goes to Josh, Damien, Justin, Lucie, Clodagh, Lauren and Jack. Thank you to the school principal, Ronan McCarthy.

Works are progressing well on the flood relief scheme, which we are delivering on behalf of our client Cork City Council – Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí.

Sorensen, in collaboration with Nexans & EirGrid Group has been working extremely hard to deliver the Celtic Interconnector, which, when delivered, will create an electrical interconnection between Ireland and France to allow the exchange of electricity between the two countries.

Sorensen are installing the ducting, cabling, junction boxes, tunnel works and all associated civil works from the submarine interface at Youghal beach to the final termination point at Knockraha Substation in Carrigtwohill. The cable route is 43km in length, and works are programmed to run until May 2026.

Sorensen wishes to sincerely thank the local communities of East Cork for their patience and cooperation during the works.

The latest Celtic Interconnector Community Newsletter is now available to read.

Celtic-Interconnector-Newsletter-February-2024

Project Flashback ?

Youghal Eco Boardwalk was looking fantastic at high tide and low tide over the weekend.

We delivered this project on behalf of our client, Cork County Council, in 2021. The project comprised the construction of a new ‘Eco Boardwalk’ on the seaward side of the Ballyvergan Dunes from Claycastle to Redbarn, Youghal, Co. Cork. The boardwalk was opened at a time when COVID was at its most prominent, and the people of Youghal were delighted to avail of such a spectacular outdoor amenity at the time.

#TeamSorensen

Our Glashaboy team took part in a Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity #MakeItVisible talk on site yesterday morning.
The talk highlighted the importance of both mental & physical health.
Addressing mental health in the construction industry is vital for the overall health, safety, and wellbeing of our site teams.
A big thanks from all at Sorensen to Dale & Justin for a very enjoyable morning.

The Make It Visible website is a valuable resource dedicated to everyone in our industry, aimed at enhancing the welfare and wellbeing of our workforce.
Discover more: www.lighthouseclub.org

We are pleased to announce the following promotions to Director within Sorensen Civil Engineering Limited; Brian Snow (Operations Director), Luke Treacy (Operations Director), Paraic McCarthy (Operations Director) and Michael O’Leary (Commercial Director). These promotions are an acknowledgement of this groups’ hard work and dedication to the company in recent years. We are confident that, under the guidance of this experienced group of Directors, the company is in excellent hands for the future.

We congratulate them sincerely on their career milestones & wish them the very best in their new roles.

We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Student Intern, Aidan Curry, who is a third-year Civil Engineering student from University of Limerick.

Aidan will join our Celtic Interconnector project team for his 8-month work placement.

We wish him all the best on his work placement and look forward to seeing him thrive within our dynamic project team.

Evan Donovan is a 3rd year civil engineering student at Technological University of the Shannon. He is currently 6 months into his 14-month work placement. He is part of our site team on the N73 Annakisha Road improvement project.

We’d like to acknowledge Evan’s hard work and commitment to date on the project and look forward to monitoring his progress through to becoming a qualified civil engineer in the near future.

As part of our commitment to the Engineers Ireland ‘STEPS to Engineering’ programme, Sorensen Contracts Manager, Paraic McCarthy gave a presentation to the 4th class students at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, Limerick City.
We received a warm welcome from the students and teachers during our visit, where we covered topics such as road construction, interesting Civil Engineering projects, and the civil engineering industry in general.
We would like to thank the school for their hospitality and all the pupils for taking part. Hopefully we have inspired some of the pupils to choose Civil Engineering as a career!

Cllr. Bernard Moynihan officially opened the Ballymaquirk Junction Upgrade Scheme on Friday, 17th November.

The project was a safety initiative by Cork County Council and Transport Infrastructure Ireland that consisted of replacing the existing four-cross-roads on the N72/R579 Ballymaquirk Junction, with a new on-line roundabout. There were also realignment works on all the existing approach roads as well as drainage, utilities, fencing, traffic management and associated ancillary works. We’re delighted to see that the new roundabout is providing a much safer passage through this busy road junction for the people of Banteer and the wider north Cork area.

We’d like to thank our dedicated and experienced Sorensen site team that worked extremely hard, in collaboration with the Cork County Council RDO site team, to deliver this project ahead of programme through very challenging site conditions.

Sorensen is happy to be celebrating the CQI | The Chartered Quality Institute‘s World Quality Week 2023.

Our Integrated Management System is certified by NSAI to ISO9001, ISO14001, and ISO45001 standards.

We would also like to welcome our new Quality Manager, Eoin Dunne, to the Sorensen team. Eoin brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in construction QAQC management to our senior management team.

#WorldQualityWeek

Rounding off Construction Safety Month with a recap of the Toolbox Talks conducted on-site last week. These discussions emphasized critical risks to uphold the highest safety standards across all our sites.

The topics covered were:
?️ Working at Height
?️ Safe Use of Mobile Equipment
?️ Safe Access & Egress
?️ Safe Lifting & Loading Practices
?️ Safety by Example

While Safety Month comes to an end, commitment to the safety and welfare of our team remains our top priority.

#CIFSafety23 #Sorensen

Our Contracts Manager Brian Snow spoke with Neil Prendeville about the flash flooding in Glanmire last week. As the Cois Na Gleann culvert under the main Glanmire road reached its capacity and began to flood the road, our experienced site team in collaboration with Cork City Council – Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí began to dam off the road and divert the flood waters, saving numerous local homes and businesses from millions of euros of property damage. We’d like to acknowledge all the good wishes that we’ve received from the local community who were extremely grateful for the efforts put in during the floods by the Sorensen team. Most importantly, a big thank you to our site team for their quick thinking and hard work!

As part of Construction Industry Federation (CIF) Safety Month & World Mental Health Day, our Celtic Interconnector team took part in a Lighthouse Charity #MakeItVisible talk on site this morning. The talk highlighted the importance of both mental & physical health. Addressing mental health in the construction industry is vital for the overall health, safety, and wellbeing of our site teams.

#CIFSafetyMonth #CIF #WorldMentalHealthDay

We were delighted to welcome Damien Owens, Director General of Engineers Ireland, to our Cork office this week to present us with our award parchment for the prestigious CPD Accredited Employer Standard in recognition of our continuing professional development (CPD) strategy for all our employees.

Thank you to our HSEQ and Engineering teams who implemented the CPD systems, allowing Sorensen to achieve this coveted award.

The Sorensen team would like to welcome our new Graduate Engineer, Evan Flavin. Evan is a graduate from Munster Technological University and is working on our Carlisle Pier project in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Sorensen is delighted to have been awarded the N73 Annakisha Road Improvement Scheme, which we will deliver on behalf of our client, Cork County Council, with funding provided by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

This 18-month contract entails realignment of a section of the N73 between Cooldurragha and Powerstown (approximately 7km east of Mallow), realignment of five local road junctions, two combined pedestrian/cycle tracks, construction of two new bridge structures, two underpass structures, two culverts, earthworks, fencing, drainage, landscaping, and environmental mitigation works.

As illustrated in the photos, our experienced site team has wasted no time getting started on site.

Find out more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/eb_sshMp