New road onto Lough Foyleto allow airport expansion

The Council is inviting tenders for the job, which will involve erecting a steel gantry over the Lough to hold some of the new lights.

According to the tender documents for the contract “piled foundations are to be installed to support the gantry above the water level in the Lough. The steel tubes will be provided free of charge to the contractor and are currently stored on the East Apron at City of Derry Airport.”

Tenders should be in by September with work scheduled to commence in January and completion slated for May 2014. The contractor will need to erect pedestrian access for maintenance.

“The gantry should extend from the end of the RESA to the last light on the approach. The access gantry will be provided free of charge to the contractor and is currently stored on the East Apron at City of Derry Airport in sections,” the documents add.

The main electrical works include new lights on the new gantry above Lough Foyle. A new road onto Lough Foyle will also have to be created - albeit temporarily.

“The design element of this item of work is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that what is constructed on the mud flats is suitable for their proposed plant, working methods, programme requirements and tide levels,” the documents state. “The road must be removed entirely at the end of the Contract and the site returned to its original condition, all to the satisfaction of the Project Manager, CoDA, the Employer, NIEA and their consultees,” it adds.

Councillors are expected to approve the project in November before contracts are awarded in December.