Construction under and above the water - This is how the port of Balatonfüred is being renovated

According to plans, within weeks, traffic will be able to use the modernised small boat harbour in Balatonfüred at full capacity, which was commissioned by Balatoni Hajózási Zrt. on behalf of Balatoni Hajózási Zrt. and is being worked on by the experts of STRABAG Építő Zrt..

It is not too much to talk about a comprehensive renovation, because in addition to strengthening the structure of the access pier, replacing the utilities serving the port - which run through the pier - and renovating the berths serving a total of 38 small vessels on the east and west side, together with the necessary support structures and infrastructure.
The project will also include the revitalisation of the 19.8 m long bridge linking the beach and the pier. During the renovation, the harbour will receive a new stone pavement in harmony with the Tagore promenade, thus providing Balatonfüred with a new elegant meeting point.

Nearly fifty-year-old building to be renovated

The first harbour in Fured was built in 1845 as a temporary wooden harbour. A little less than a century later, in 1935, work began on a permanent structure of island-like design, and the pier head was completed, which was connected to the promenade shortly afterwards. The water exchange of the harbour basin was provided by a 15 m bridge, and from 1979 onwards by a 19.8 m bridge. Since then, the structure has not undergone any major renovation, only conservation work.
The STRABAG has been working on hydraulic engineering works in the area since 2019. For the current project, the company is working on the technical management and
except for part of the water works, with its own capacities.

Tagore Promenade is covered for the duration of the works

From the start of the construction, the particularities of the organisational circumstances made it particularly challenging to stagger the work - Katalin Fekete told our portal. The construction manager of STRABAG added that the opening of the artificial ice rink coincided with the start of construction in early December, which made it difficult - until early February impossible - for construction traffic to access the coast.

From 18 April, part of the work area had to be secured for passenger traffic six days a week, and from 6 June the work will be carried out with constant passenger traffic and weekend events.
To access the work area, pavement protection was constructed across the Tagore promenade, after which demolition and excavation work could begin, followed by preparation for the installation of utilities in the pier stem.

Because of the bridge's load-bearing capacity, the utility tunnel elements were manually moved into place

One of the biggest tasks was the demolition of the pier body and the installation of the new utility tunnel, which consisted of 28 elements, each 3 metres long, 140 cm wide and 80 cm high. Katalin Fekete said:

Because of the bridge's load capacity limitations, the utility tunnel elements were transported across the bridge with a special electric crane and then had to be dragged into place one by one by hand, using rollers, in an 86-metre long working pit on the pier. Despite the difficulties, this task was completed in less than 3 days.

The new utilities were placed in the tunnel, which was covered with the remaining formwork and a 25-30 cm thick reinforced concrete base slab was built on top.

For access and maintenance, reinforced concrete and two gas-spring covers have been installed in three places.
Energy poles were installed in the small boat harbour to receive electricity and water
lines. While the other utilities (gas, pressurized sewage, water, electric cables) installed in the utility tunnel provide power, water supply and drainage to the pierhead.
The replacement of the utilities was followed by the installation of limestone paving and
square lighting, recessed lights and chandeliers.

The potential of waterborne works and waterborne transport has been enhanced

The limitations of the bridge's load-bearing capacity posed a challenge not only for the utility work, but also for the concrete pumping, which required 100 metres of pipe laying, slowing down the construction.
Katalin Fekete said,

Due to the difficulties of access from the shore, the importance of working from the water increased, so all demolition materials were removed over the water, and on several occasions we also carried out concrete work with both mixers and concrete pumps positioned on the floating equipment.

Redesign

A complicating factor during the project was the design deviations, the contractor's experts found significant deviations and deficiencies in the stone scattering in front of the existing seawall, the height, geometry and stability of the existing structures, and the stability of the stone-lined embankment.
At levels + 0.00 m - 0.50 m in front of the vertical wall of the harbour, only small amounts of stone mixed with silt were present, with manual sounding showing the presence of dilute silt up to a further 1.6 m.

Water engineering technology already proven overseas

Originally, about 86 metres of precast reinforced concrete panels with painted steel columns were to be built in front of the 37-metre stone wall on the west side of the harbour and 37 metres on the east side, similar to the stone-clad copper-clad section. However, due to the poor condition of the existing seawall and design deviations, this was not possible and a new technical solution had to be found.
Due to the lack of a stone plinth, the pier's masonry was reinforced and built with Truline PVC sheeting elements with reinforced concrete infill, a technology never used before in a project of this size in the USA. In addition, the pier level was raised by 15 centimetres with concrete fill.

Divers also helped with the construction

The interesting thing about the project, we learned from Katalin Fekete, is that some of the work was carried out underwater, such as the construction of the seawall and related works, i.e. stone spreading and back-anchoring with the placement of the sling beam.
Most of the hydraulic engineering works were carried out using a floating machine equipped with a rotary dredger. The work on the pond bed was carried out under the supervision of a nature conservation expert. The construction manager added that additional diving work was needed, mainly during excavations, back-anchoring of the bank and during the connection sections near the bridge.

Working in a divided area

The works have widened the upper walkway of the harbour by 30 centimetres and the pier by 100 centimetres. The lower walkways are 50 centimetres wider, although this is less noticeable because of the landscape elements.
The renovation of the bridge will include new railings, roadway, sidewalk and paving.
The new pavements will differ in their layering from the Tagore promenade, but will be hamonized with it.

The full implementation of the project will be completed later than planned due to deviations and redesign. This is another challenge as the public shipping season has started. The upper part of the pier was opened in April, but this has cut the work area in two, making it difficult to work. Deliveries are made during the day, but material movements on the pier are mainly at night.
The contractor plans to finish weeks before the deadline in mid-July.