This section of the Conservation Information Resource for Civil Engineers (CIRCE) provides selected information and guidance for building and civil engineers undertaking conservation, restoration and extending the life of existing engineering structures not covered elsewhere in CIRCE. These include canals, dams and maritime structures, tunnels, highways, masts, towers and chimneys and miscellaneous structures.
Each sub-section provides links to selected information for each type of structure. This includes: general guidance; inspection, assessment and appraisal; remediation, repair and conservation; and case studies. Additional links may also be found in the section of CIRCE dealing with particular construction materials, e.g. Masonry or Iron and Steel.
Simply choose the relevant type of structure and begin exploring our resources.
The following selected guidance is of relevance to various canal structures including locks, troughs and embankments. Aqueducts are dealt with under Bridges and Aqueducts in CIRCE.
General guidance
Canal & River Restoration, Inland Waterways Association [web pages]
Restoration Assessment Schedule, Inland Waterways Association [web & pdf pages]
Practical Restoration Handbook, Inland Waterways Association [web & pdf pages]
Inspection, assessment and appraisal
Asset inspection procedures, Canal & River Trust, 2014 [73 pp]
Remediation, repair and conservation
Derwent Valley Aqueduct: improving Resilience of the Severn Trent Water Strategic Supply Grid by Andy Dawe and Bob Taylor 2011 [3 pp]
Guidance for the Design and Maintenance of Stepped Masonry Spillways, Environment Agency 2010 [130 pp]
Case studies
Restoring the Montgomery Canal, Canal and River Trust [7 web pages]
Regeneration through restoration: the Huddersfield Narrow Canal project by A. Stopher, ICE 2000 [10 pp]
Preserving canals through innovating maintenance spot dredging by Claire Louise Greenwood, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering History and Heritage 167 February 2014 Issue EH1, 4–9. [6 pp]
The history and replacement of lock gates by Mike Clarke, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering History and Heritage 167 February 2014 Issue EH1, 10–21. [12 pp]
Qingkou complex: an engineering masterpiece of the Grand Canal of China by Jin Zhang et al., Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering History and Heritage 167 May 2014 Issue EH2, 74–87. [14 pp]
The following selected guidance is of relevance to dams, coastal and maritime structures.
General guidance
Maritime Heritage, Ed. C.A. Brebbia & T. Gambin, WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol. 65, Wessex Institute of Technology Press, 2003 [212 pp]
Maritime Heritage and Modern Ports, Eds, R. Marcet, I Barbe, C.A. Brebbia, & J. Olivella, WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol. 79, Wessex Institute of Technology Press, 2005 [512 pp]
History and Heritage of Coastal Engineering by Nicholas C. Kraus (ed.), Conference 1996 [15 papers]
Modern concepts to save marine structures, Steve Hold, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering History and Heritage 168 August 2015 Issue EH3, 122–134, [13 pp]
Long-term Benefits and Performance of Dams, British Dam Society, Conference 2004 [57 papers]
Degradation of reinforced concrete structures especially of dam and buildings in its proximity by R. K. Mishra 2005 [8 pp]
The Geoffrey Binnie Lecture 2014: The heritage of dams in Northern Ireland by Alan Cooper, Dams and Reservoirs, 2014 24(2), 62–86.
Inspection, assessment and appraisal
Guide to inspection of underwater structures by Institution of Structural Engineers, 2001 [51 pp]
Engineering guide to the safety of concrete and masonry dam structures in the UK by M R Kennard, L L Owens & R A Reader, Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA), 1996 [176 pp]
An engineering guide to the safety of embankment dams in the United Kingdom (BR 363) by T A Johnston, J P Millmore, J A Charles & P Tedd, Building Research Station, 1999 [108 pp]
Condition assessment of Government-owned dams in Finland by P. Vuola et al., British Dam Society Conference 2004 [8 pp]
Durability of concrete structures in the North Sea: State of the art report, fip, 1996 [53 pp]
Remediation, repair and conservation
Lighthouse Conservation Manual, International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities 2006 [120 pp] direct
Coastal conservation by: R. Carter ICE 1993 [16 pp]
Case studies
Maritime Heritage, Ed. C.A. Brebbia & T. Gambin, WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol. 65, Wessex Institute of Technology Press, 2003 [212 pp]
Maritime Heritage and Modern Ports, Eds, R. Marcet, I Barbe, C.A. Brebbia, & J. Olivella, WIT Transactions on The Built Environment, Vol. 79, Wessex Institute of Technology Press, 2005 [512 pp]
Refurbishment of Cove Harbour, Berwickshire, Historic Environment Scotland, 2016 [23 pp]
Weymouth Harbour Flood Wall Condition Assessment Report, The Environment Agency, 2010 [69 pp]
Brighton Pier, UK – innovation in renovation by Nigel Winterbottom, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Engineering History and Heritage 167 May 2014 Issue EH2, 100–110. [11 pp]
Ericht and Dalwhinnie Dam refurbishment and protection works by K. J. Dempster et al., British Dam Society Conference 2004 [14 pp]
Irvine harbour restoration, by E. Prince; ICE 1994 [14 pp]
Fifty-year-old jetties in a tropical marine environment by Y C Kog 2005 [8 pp]
Dams and Reservoirs, Institution of Civil Engineers
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering History and Heritage,
The following guidance is of specific relevance to tunnels and sewers.
General guidance
Tunnels: inspection, assessment and maintenance (C671) by McKibbins, L, Elmer, R, Roberts, K , Construction Industry Research And Information Association (CIRIA) 2010 [450 pp]
Restoration of sewerage systems. ICE Conference 1981 [40 papers]
Inspection, assessment and appraisal
Water Tunnel Condition Assessment: A Comprehensive Approach to Evaluating Reliability by D. Blake et al., Jacobs Ass. 2010 [30 pp]
Condition Assessment of Conveyance Tunnels: Effective Approaches to Managing Reliability by T. Hennings et al., Jacobs Ass. 2012 [10 pp]
Thames Tideway Tunnel: Thames to Lee Valley Raw Water Main - Site Interface Report, 2013 [47 pp]
Remediation, repair and conservation
Rehabilitation of Raw-Water Conduit and Pedestrian Tunnel by J. Kosnak, 2014 [5 pp]
Case studies
Thames Tunnel Refurbishment [Web pages]
The strengthening of Brunel's Thames tunnel by M. J. Roach, ICE 1998 [10 pp]
The following selected information is of relevance to roads and highways. Bridges are dealt with in the Bridges section of CIRCE.
General guidance
Motorway widening [web pages]
Smart motorways [web pages]
Inspection, assessment and appraisal
Use of non-destructive testing for the assessment of newly-constructed concrete pavements, Transport Research Laboratory, UK, 1998 [23 pp]
Remediation, repair and conservation
Prevention and a Better Cure: Potholes Review, UK Department for Transport, 2012 [72 pp]
Case studies
The First Heritage Motorway - M45 Dunchurch to Crick [Webpages]
The following selected guidance is of relevance various types of mast tower or chimney.
General guidance
Code of practice for life cycle management of reinforced concrete cooling towers in power plants, VGB PowerTech (European Technical Association for Power And Heat Generation) 2010 [40 pp]
Inspection, assessment and appraisal
Structural Inspections of Masts and Towers, Mast and Tower Safety Group, 2016 [9 pp]
Masts and Towers - Condition Inspection, Practitioner Guide PG 10/08, UK Defence Estates, 2010 [13 pp]
Masts and Towers - Design and Appraisal, Practitioner Guide PG 09/08, UK Defence Estates, 2008 [16 pp]
Design, Appraisal and Certification of Masts and Towers, Technical Bulletin TB 00/07, UK Defence Estates, 2000 [17 pp]
Appraisal and Inspection of Masts & Towers and Hangars & other wide-span Buildings. Safety alert: 06/13, UK Defence Estates, 2013 [3 pp]
Guide to the Inspection and Maintenance of Reinforced Concrete Chimneys and Natural Draught Cooling Towers. Association of Technical Lightning & Access Specialists, 2006 [12 pp]
Remediation, repair and conservation
Refurbishment: Concrete Repair and Protection of Chimneys and Cooling Towers, (Commercial brochure with general guidance), SIKA, 2014 [17 pp]
Case studies
The following selected information is of relevance to miscellaneous structures including gasholders (gasometers).
Gasholders
Conservation of gasholders at Kings Cross, London and conversion to apartments Webpages
Volatile Heritage: St Pancras gasholders, 2002 [2 pp]
Gas holders – the end of an era, 2015 [6 pp]
Fichte-Bunker, Berlin: Adaptive Reuse: 19th Century Gasometer into 21st Century Apartments. Webpages
Gasholder City, Vienna. Webpages
Radio telescope
The Lovell Radio Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, 1952-57. Eng. Charles Husband. [Webpages]
The Lovell Radio Telescope, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, 1952-57. Eng. Charles Husband. [Webpages]
The Lovell Radio Telescope, Jodrell Bank, Historic England Listing [Webpages]
The Lovell Radio Telescope, Jodrell Bank, UNESCO World Heritage Nomination [Webpages]
Roller Coaster
Dreamland wooden roller coaster, Margate, Kent, UK, 1920 (refurbished 2015) [Webpages]
Dreamland wooden roller coaster, Margate, Historic England Listing [Webpages]
The 'Pepsi Max Big One' rollercoaster - Blackpool Pleasure Beach by J. M. Robert, 1994 [5 pp]