Southsea coast scheme: design and construction takeaways for coastal engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
VSBW, the VolkerStevin–Boskalis Westminster joint venture, has opened the latest phase of the Southsea Coastal Scheme, delivering a new engineered frontage on the Portsmouth seafront. The section forms part of the multi-phase tidal flood defence upgrade designed to protect thousands of low-lying properties from coastal flooding and overtopping events. For geotechnical and coastal engineers, the scheme is a live reference for complex urban seawall construction, ground improvement and phased works in a constrained, heavily used waterfront environment.
Technical Brief
- Access, cranage and material deliveries had to be sequenced around a live, heavily used promenade.
- Temporary works and public exclusion zones were repeatedly reconfigured as the frontage advanced in short sections.
- Tidal working constraints required tightly programmed pours and lifts within limited low-water windows.
- Interface management with adjacent completed and future phases demanded strict geometric and level control.
- Safety management had to address simultaneous operations: marine plant, land-based equipment and continuous public presence.
- Experience here will inform safe phasing, public access management and marine risk controls on similar UK coastal schemes.
Our Take
For contractors like VolkerStevin and Boskalis Westminster, successful staged openings on schemes such as Southsea are strategically important because they demonstrate the ability to maintain public access and safety during complex marine works, a capability that often scores highly in UK coastal procurement evaluations.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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