The Thames Tideway project in London is set to resume drilling this week after work was majorly scaled back due to coronavirus.
Meanwhile, EDF has returned c500 staff to Hinkley Point C – taking the onsite workforce to around 2,500.
EDF said the workforce at the nuclear power plant construction project was “well adapted” to social distancing while all roles that could be done remotely had been transitioned.
At the end of March Utility Week revealed that onsite staff had dropped from c4,500 to about 2,000 as EDF wound down construction at the nuclear site on the north Somerset coast.
To allow people to work safely it has used more split shifts, put on extra buses and staggered breaks to minimise unnecessary staff contact.
Meanwhile, the company building the 25km super sewer to reduce sewer pollution in the River Thames is resuming its main tunnelling work after pausing all nonessential activities during lockdown.
Around 1,000 people are expected to return to the 21 Tideway sites after completing safety reviews by the company and contractors, which included social distancing and journeys to sites.
In mid-April the company began to bring staff back on to sites to carry out a small number of tasks.
Staff will be encouraged to use personal transport, walking or cycling to sites but those using public transport will avoid peak times.
Tideway said it will continue to review the measures as people get back on to sites and those who can work remotely will still do so.
Chief executive of Tideway Andy Mitchell said pausing the project was “absolutely the right thing to do” but recognised the importance of continuing the work.
He said: “Only by planning very carefully what activities are safe are we getting our teams back to work. Our measures have been developed with our workforce and contractors and are being introduced after detailed safety reviews of every one of our sites. The measures mean we are able to get more of our work back up and running, safely, minimising delays to this vital project and contributing to wider efforts to support the UK economy.”
The massive project to dig and build 25km of sewer under central London reached the halfway point in February with excavations reaching from Fulham to Blackfriars. Digging began in 2016 at multiple points concurrently, with tunnelling scheduled to be completed by 2022 and all works competed by 2024.
Tideway, the company delivering the tunnel, is financed by Bazalgette Tunnel Limited, which in turn is owned by a consortium of investors.