Silt curtains keep water clean during construction 

ViaCon silt curtains help prevent siltation during dredging construction works and deliver time and cost savings during installation.

The Challenge

Doing construction and repairs on waterways can pose challenges, including the risk of water pollution as well as access difficulties. ViaCon works with customers to minimise water pollution resulting from dredging construction works and achieve more sustainable, responsible outcomes during construction projects.  

In Finland, two repair and construction projects were planned. One, at Parainen, involved repairs to a drawbridge and widening of the embankments on the road. The second, at Porvoo, was a new pier along the Porvoo River in the Porvoo city centre.  

In both cases, the aim was to prevent siltation and limit the area where sediment could spread. 

The Solution

ViaCon Finland proposed the use of silt curtains (or turbidity curtains) to achieve these goals as well as gain speed in project completion.   Silt curtains are geotextile solutions that are used to contain sediment and silt that is stirred up during construction or dredging activities in or near bodies of water.  

Parainen 

The 2021 Parainen project involved:  

  • Two silt curtains, 4.7 m deep and 300 m and 200 m in length 

Porvoo 

The 2021 Porvoo project involved:  

  • One silt curtain, 4.7 m deep and 135 m in length 

The ViaCon Advantage

The project saved the customer time because of ease of installation, fast delivery time and the high quality of the silt curtain product. 

Several unique advantages can be realised with ViaCon silt curtains: 

  • Easy and cost-effective inflatable system for shipping and handling. All that’s needed is a boat to tow the curtain into place and a compressor to inflate the float, helping to get materials to the job site quickly. 
  • Faster time to installation thanks to short lead times from the factory. 
  • Ease of installation: If customer is well-prepared, the curtain can be towed into place in minutes and anchored in a few more. 
  • Silt curtains are made of high-quality woven geotextile, specially designed for underwater applications, which offers a tight woven pattern, strong seams and good resistance against abrasion. 

The complete solution ensured that these projects could be completed faster at less expense overall and deliver the desired results:   

  • Ease of implementation 
  • Faster delivery of materials and subsequent faster installation  
  • Environmentally responsible approach 

 With this silt curtain project, ViaCon Finland continues to offer more economically and environmentally sustainable geotechnical civil-engineering solutions.