Huge drilling rig in place in Ironbridge Gorge to help halt landslides

Engineers at Jackfield in Ironbridge Gorge are stepping up their efforts to prevent landslides and reduce erosion.

A rig used for piling work is being used behind the Jackfield Tile Museum to halt ongoing land movement on the south bank of the Ironbridge Gorge.

Telford & Wrekin Council's Senior Environmental Geotechnical Engineer Debbie Goodale shared photos from the site to keep residents informed on their progress.

Russell Griffin, a spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "This land is slipping at a swift rate by UK standards as the Gorge continues to form and evolve. The work consists of 2,000 steel piles being driven into the banks to stabilise the land and halt the land slip.

"These piles act a bit like nails and they will secure the bank for the next 100 years.

"The piles are designed to bend slightly during the first six months after they are sunk into the earth but after that they will be completely stable. Electronic sensors are being installed in the piles to monitor any movement as an added security measure."

Contractors started the £17.6m Jackfield Stabilisation Project earlier this year.

Hundreds of trees were felled to make way for the main works, which will include earthworks, the treatment of mine workings, piling, river bank protection, drainage, highway work and landscaping.

The overall cost included contributions made by the Government's Department for Communities and Local Government, which was part matched by Telford & Wrekin Council and is set to be completed by March 31, 2016.

Work has concentrated on land between Jackfield Tile Museum and the Boat Inn which has suffered significant landslides in the past.

Council engineers are continuing to monitor ground movement on site as well as water levels, ground gas levels and groundwater quality which will continue throughout the project.

Businesses in Jackfield are urging customers to remember they are still open during the major works

The scheme aims to stabilise the most active area of ground to allow a new highway to be built which will run between the end of the Tile Museum to near Maws Craft Centre to replace the existing road.

A temporary route leading to businesses in Jackfield has been installed and traders want visitors and residents to remember they are open.

This road will be shifted as stabilisation work progresses on the land surrounding the Maws Craft Centre, an old Victorian tile factory.