Lanes drainage know-how helps curb major road hazard

Lanes Group drainage expertise is helping prepare for road safety improvements at a junction where accidents have resulted in two fatalities.

The company’s engineers have carried out a full highways drainage survey at an intersection on the A1306 in Havering, East London.

Havering Borough Council commissioned the Lanes London depot at Rainham to do the survey in preparation for building a large roundabout at the junction of the A1306 and Sandy Lane.

The £300,000 scheme has been given the go-ahead because there were 14 road traffic accidents, including two fatalities, at the spot in the four years to October 2012.

James Ball, Highways and Sewerage Supervisor with Havering Borough Council, said: “Lanes Group has given us excellent survey data to fully understand how we can connect up the new drainage system with the current one.

“The A1306 is a dual carriageway at this point, with a wide central reservation, so the drainage system is more substantial than for a conventional main road.

“Putting in the roundabout has been identified as an important long-term solution to design out a major road hazard, making this an important development for the council and the local community.”

Steven Murrells, Area Development Manager for Lanes Group in London, said: “Carrying out a CCTV drainage survey is a key part of a road improvement scheme like this.

“It is important to know the position and condition of all drainage assets around the site, including drainage pipes and manholes, before construction begins.

“Highway engineers can then be sure that the current drainage system has the capacity to take any additional surface water volumes created by the development.

“The drainage system for the new roundabout can also be properly aligned, and any remedial works needed for the current drainage lines can be carried out.”

A robot CCTV drainage camera was used to carry out the survey, creating HD quality video images of the inside of all surface water pipes around the planned development site.

Drainage lines were cleaned using a jet vacuumation tanker. A high pressure jetting unit, generating a water jet at 10,000 pounds per square inch, was used to cut tree roots from a number of the pipes.

The work was completed in 11 working days under full traffic control measures.