Deeside Wetwell: Eight metres Down and taking shape 

There’s some jobs GRS eat for breakfast because we’ve got the skill, expertise and track record of delivery right behind us. 

This is one of them in Deeside. 

And while it’s not easy work, GRS have made complex operations look relatively simple. 

Ready for what's next. That's the GRS line and at Summer Bridge, it means an eight metre wet well - the kind of job some contractors wouldn't take on, or more accurately, couldn't. 

When our client turned to us to weigh it up, we did our homework and knew it could be done. It’s being delivered on time and on budget.  

It’s also attracted the interest of many people on and offsite. Everyone is intrigued about the company behind this big civils job – even competitors. 

So what's happening now? 

Each precast concrete ring section has to be lowered, aligned and jointed to a standard that leaves no room for error. A wet well only works if it's watertight, so every joint between sections gets sealed and caulked by hand before the next ring goes in. 

It's slow, deliberate work. There's no shortcut to getting eight metres of reinforced concrete sealed correctly, and our team doesn't move on to the next section until each joint passes inspection. 

The cap goes on. 

With the ring sections in and sealed, the precast cover slab gets craned into position and the final piece that turns an open excavation into a finished structure. From here, the wet well is sealed from the surface down, with the dewatering system still running to keep the surrounding ground dry while the wider scheme continues around it. 

"This is the part of the job most people never see," says Tom Keane, MD and Owner of GRS.  

"Nobody driving past Summer Bridge knows there's an eight metre wet well going in beneath their feet, sealed joint by joint to a standard that has to be right first time, every time. That's the work that's kept GRS in business for six decades, not the visible stuff, the stuff underneath it." 

The team behind it. 

That standard comes from the people doing the work. Sean has 47 years in civil engineering. Billy has 30. Tommy has spent 30 years operating the levers in a multitude of difference plant. The last 19 of them as Sean's machine driver in a partnership built on knowing exactly what the other is going to do before they do it. All three are Wales based, all three within 20 minutes of the job. You won't find a crew more local to the work. 

We asked Sean about the scheme. "It's in safe hands," he said.  

“We've done loads of these in our time in the civils game. It's a neat job, one of the neatest, cleanest and safest. We take pride in our work, and it shows in the pictures." 

Billy added: "Everything's done right. We're working at height, so everything's clipped in, ladders are secure, and Sean and I know each other like the back of our hands. We've got great communication with Tommy in the cab. It's a top team, if we do say so ourselves." 

What's next? 

With the structure capped, the wider civils package continues around it; groundworks, connections and the rest of the scheme that ties the wet well into the network it's built to serve.