The Environment Agency and Somerset Council have awarded a £101m contract to Kier to continue building the Bridgwater Tidal Barrier.

Since 2023, Kier has been building downstream defences and enabling works that form the safe working platforms and foundations for the barrier.

It aims to protect around 11,300 homes, 1,500 businesses, farmland and infrastructure from tides surging up the River Parrett from the Severn Estuary.

The barrier will give protection against a one-in-200-year flood-level event. When it’s finished, there will be a 0.5%, or one-in-200, chance in any given year of a damaging tidal flood.

This level of protection will extend to the year 2125 for Bridgwater and 2055 for the downstream communities of Combwich, Chilton Trinity and Pawlett.

Somerset Council said downstream defences are currently modelled to around 2055 because climate projections show increased tidal levels and surge frequency beyond then.

April saw the departure of the Haven SeaSeven jack-up barge, deployed for temporary works for the bypass channel and in-channel cofferdam. This enabled work to start on the barrier’s permanent structures.

“Delivering infrastructure of this scale requires close collaboration, careful planning and a phased approach to delivery,” said Sonal Mitra, deputy director for the Environment Agency.

Ross MacKenzie, managing director of Natural Resources at Kier Infrastructure, said: “We are proud to be shaping such a nationally significant project that will leave a legacy for Somerset communities.”