Emergency works completed at Haylands Retaining Wall, Hawes, North Yorkshire

Thomas Armstrong Construction has successfully completed emergency reinstatement works on the Haylands retaining wall supporting Brunt Acres Road in Hawes.

The urgent intervention was required to secure the highway from collapsing into the River Ure, following significant flood damage caused by Storm Dave in April 2026. The highway supporting wall stands approximately 1.5m above normal water levels and is finished with a 0.5m stone parapet wall at road level.

Working in partnership with North Yorkshire Council, the complex repair programme involved:

• Debris Clearance & Water Isolation: Removing fallen stone and collapsed boulders from the watercourse, followed by the installation of 25 metres of 6m-long sheet piling and sandbags to establish a dry working zone.
• Ecological Protection: Dewatering the isolated zone under the supervision of a licensed ecologist to safely rescue local fish and protected White-Clawed Crayfish.
• Foundation & Wall Reconstruction: Pouring an ST4 concrete foundation 0.5m below the water level using a specialist Sika anti-washout additive to eliminate river pollution. A 22-metre-long, 2-metre-high rock armour and boulder wall was then rebuilt to match the original character of the area, secured with heavy-duty stainless steel ribbed dowels, resin, and a Gen 1 concrete backfill to support the undermined highway.
• Scour Prevention: The sheet piles were cut down to concrete level to remain in place permanently as a protective apron against future riverbed scour. This specialist underwater Oxy-arc cutting work was executed safely by Dagger Divers.
• Parapet Restoration: Rebuilding the upper parapet wall using the original stone and a traditional 1:1:6 lime and sand mortar mix.

The completion of these works successfully stabilises the route, protecting both the local environment and the highway infrastructure from future weather events.