GRAHAM has been appointed to deliver the £220 million Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme, a 5km flood defence engineering programme along the River Thames. The scheme will protect all properties in Oxford currently at risk of river flooding, expected to save more than £1.8bn over its lifetime by reducing flood damage and disruption.

GRAHAM will build a new stream and wetland wildlife corridor to the west of Oxford city centre, running from just north of Botley Road to Kennington, where it will rejoin the Thames. The works include lowering areas of the floodplain to form the new channel and constructing flood walls, embankments, culverts, bridges and flood gates.

When river levels are high, water will spill from the new stream into the lowered floodplain beside it, providing additional flood storage capacity. The new channel will take excess flow from the Seacourt, Bulstake and Hinksey streams, with removal of the historic Towles Mill weir restoring fish passage through Oxford's waterways for the first time in more than a century.

The scheme will also protect the railway, local roads and key utilities, including broadband infrastructure. Environmental gains include more than 20 hectares of new wetland habitat linking existing wildlife sites and approximately 16 hectares of floodplain meadow.

Alastair Lewis, Contracts Director at GRAHAM, said: "This is an extremely important project, given Oxford has lived with the threat of serious flooding for generations. The vital piece of infrastructure will tackle the flood risk directly in a way that works with the landscape rather than against it." Lewis added: "Our experienced team is well-versed on handling the complexities that come with this kind of work, and are very excited to be working on such a prestigious project. We look forward to delivering something that will make a real positive and lasting impact to the city."

The structural driver is the engineering challenge of managing peak river flows through a constrained urban floodplain, requiring earthworks, river training structures and flood control infrastructure delivered without displacing existing rail, road and utility networks. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and take up to five years to complete.

For the sector, the scheme adds to GRAHAM's portfolio of major UK flood defence and water infrastructure engineering projects, reinforcing its position delivering large-scale civil engineering programmes across England.

Source: constructionireland.ie / newcivilengineer.com