The final stone is laid on the St Michael’s Mount Causeway

This week, the final stone was laid on the Island’s causeway after what was initially going to be an 11 year project, was speeded up to a 9 year project after the historic walkway was damaged during the monumental storms in 2014.

Work started on the causeway in 2007, and initially was projected to finish in 2018. However, the storms on Valentine’s Day in 2014, which washed away many parts of the causeway, forced the process to be sped up, and to a higher specification. Ultimately two years were shaved off the original timeline, and we can now open for the 2016 summer season with a completed causeway that will hopefully remain intact for generations to come. It has taken an estimated 218,000 man hours to complete, not to mention architectural and design time. The iconic stone paved pathway is inevitably vulnerable to the tempestuous seas of Mounts Bay, particularly in the winter months, and so the design and materials used in the project were carefully considered to prevent any further serious damage to the causeway.

An incredible 3511 tonnes of concrete was used in the project and four miles of marine grade stainless steel bar was laid to line the sides of the causeway, before 4560 pins were inserted to pin the curb stones. This was to ensure that once the stones were laid, natural movement in strong seas would be minimal. The original stones from the causeway that were lifted by the storms and scattered amongst the beach were gathered, and 256 hours of stone laying ensued, with each stone carefully placed above the concrete and pins.

Cornish Heritage Builders were the company the took on the mammoth task of repairing the causeway. For both islanders and visitors it will be a welcome walk to the Mount this summer. If you take the walk across the causeway do ponder the effort and time it has taken to re-build this important access route to our iconic island.

Take a stroll on the newly refurbed causeway along to the island and take a guess at how many stones pave the way to your St Michael’s Mount adventure…