Protecting Coastal Areas with Timber Bogmats

by gjmats | 16 May, 2016 | Construction industry, Information

Timber Mats Serving A New Purpose

We thought about calling this post “Bogmats at the Beach” but that would imply an element of rest and relaxation. In fact, our timber mats, and the CSCS accredited team that lays them, work extremely hard in coastal areas, estuaries, coastal marshes and the like, protecting habitats and allowing heavy machinery access to hard to reach areas.

Timber mats to protect

Coastal habitats are vitally important to local and global ecosystems. They offer a safe haven for wildlife and plants that aren’t found elsewhere. With storms and erratic weather patterns becoming increasingly common, our coastlines are being battered, and there has been much investment in building (and re-building) sea defences to protect against the battering of the sea. While coastal landscapes might recover from the batterings delivered by Mother Nature, the impact of heavy machinery needed to carry out this vital construction work can be more serious.

Timber mats for access

Providing access to areas that need work on coastal defences – be it groynes that need constructing, revetments to absorb the force of the incoming water, seawalls or dikes – is a critical aspect of this essential work. Sea defences are often required in areas of soft ground, yet the machinery needed to carry out the work is often heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. Timber mats are a vital part of the kit involved in this work, forming temporary roadways to allow heavy machinery to access these areas.

Massive mats for massive machines

Timber mats can also be essential for supporting heavy equipment such as dredgers when working in coastal regions or on the banks of rivers. We’ve recently supplied bespoke timber mats in huge format (we’re talking 10m by 1200 mm by 300 mm) to a prestigious manufacturer of dredging and other subsea equipment. Massive mats for massive machines. The last thing you want is to get stuck in the sand or mud…

If you’re involved in carrying out work on coastal defences – and we predict that this work is only going to increase over time as the impact of the changing climate continues to manifest itself in violent storms and flooding – the chances are you are going to need timber mats. Mats for access and to protect the ecosystems that thrive in these isolated areas. Not only do we stock an extensive range of timber mats specially engineered for use in coastal areas, we can manufacture bespoke mats for your particular circumstances.

Get in touch to see how we can help you and your project!