UV lining highway drainage
Project challenge
Carillion Kier Joint Venture, working for Highways England, was turning the M6 between junctions 16 at Crewe and 19 at Knutsford into a Smart Motorway.
This involved changing the hard shoulder into a permanent extra lane. The JV opted to have the roadside drainage extensively lined, instead of replacing it, to give it the additional strength needed. It would be the first time this had been done during a motorway upgrade project in the UK. The chosen technology was ultra-violet (UV) cure in place pipe lining (CIPP). Lanes Group plc was selected to work on the project.
Client comment
“We approached Lanes Group, as one of the early adopters of UV lining in the UK, and worked with them to confirm the process would meet the required quality specification, and could be integrated with other construction activities. The results achieved by the Lanes teams have been impressive, and the process works well.”
Chris Padden, Carillion Kier | Section Manager
Project implementation
In the first phase of the programme, Lanes lined pipes with diameters of up to 600mm along the northbound carriageway of the M6 between Junction 18 and 19, a distance of 13 km. A safe system of work was designed which involved a CCTV drainage survey team and a jet vac tanker pipe cleaning team working ahead of the UV lining team.
They operated in a 3.5-metre-wide space with 135,000 vehicles passing each day, while also co-ordinating the lining operation with the needs of other contractors working on the Smart Motorway project. Two lining teams were deployed, one working nights, the other days. To accelerate the lining process, UV liners up to 200 metres in length were installed.
Results
• The highway drainage lining process was a success.
• All technical, quality, safety, and time scheduling KPIs were met.
• Highway drainage channels were structurally strengthened in line
plans to create the new Smart Motorway.
• Carillion Kier JV saved significant amounts of money and time in
carrying out the drainage upgrade work, on behalf of the
Highways Agency.
