Woodbrook Dart Station – Irish Rail

Project Description:

The construction of a new DART station at Woodbrook in Shankill coincides with the construction of a new strategic housing development southwest of the site. Tree-space was contracted by Irish Rail to undertake an arboricultural assessment of the trees that might be impacted upon by the development. The trees on the site were established in lines and small groups along the boundary of the golf course and the railway line. The assessment of the trees was for planning and development purposes; however, a number of tree safety issues were discovered during the assessment. Tree-space informed the project manager in Irish Rail about the tree safety issues and the trees were removed promptly.

One of the key challenges with the project was access to the working area on the downside platform and the installation of a temporary haul road for the construction phase. In total thirty-four trees are to be retained on the site however the construction phase will introduce pressures on the retained trees. Tree-space worked closely with the Irish Rail project manager and station designers to implement a protection plan that protected the retained trees and did not obstruct the construction process.