Dock facelift speeds lorry flow
Page 62
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT DESIGNED to make dock congestion a thing of the past, the lorry traffic procedure built in to Blue Funnel Line's redeveloped south Victoria Dock, Birkenhead, has speeded turnround to such an extent that the high-security lorry park is heavily underused, according to Mr. Lindsay Alexander, director. A joint venture by Alfred Holt and Co and the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, the £1.5m scheme has taken two years to complete.
Between 80 and 85 per cent of cargo arrives by road, said Mr. Alexander, but with sophisticated communications and flowline cargo systems the handling of lorries is so rapid that waiting time has been cut from an average four hours to almost zero. Cargo can be received any time before published sailing dates and the facilities should enable vehicles from Lancashire to complete two round trips a day to the dock.
Mr. Alexander said the project has not so much been futuristic thinking as catching up with the present. "Old concepts such as allowing lorries in transit sheds, a blow-over from the days of horse-drawn drays, have gone. The valuable shed space is reserved for cargo and mechanical handling appliances."
Control of the flow of lorry traffic begins at the entrance to the east of the three berths. Without leaving their cabs, drivers hand in their cart notes which are numbered and sent by pneumatic tube to the appropriate receiver's office. Loads not immediately required are moved into the high-security lorry park, which can take up to 80 commercial vehicles. Rest room facilities are available for drivers, where they can get hot drinks and snacks. The fact that amenities are provided at the centre for their wives has drawn many complimentary comments.
When the receiver's office is ready for the load, the driver is called by Tannoy from the lorry park. Given a shed colour-code and a bay number he knows exactly where his load is required. Fork lift trucks and mobile cranes take the load for storage on numbered areas in the transit shed or to the ship for immediate loading. A one-way traffic system avoids congestion within the dock.
Another concept of new thinking was to separate road and rail traffic. Rail spurs run to the ends of the transit sheds from where cargo can be taken into the sheds or handled directly by quay crane. A discharging point in the lorry park for receiving small lots is another facility to speed vehicle tumround. This also helps avoid congestion by keeping these vehicles away from the busy shed areas.