Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

I have recently started phase 2 of the PET course working as part of the earthworks team in Balfour Beatty who are delivering the M25 J10/A3 Wisley interchange upgrade. The project includes the widening of the A3, free flowing left hand turns at every corner, the widening of the existing interchange roundabout, an 8 mile long non-motorised user road and 8 new bridges. There is also an increase in the road furniture and a number of re-wilding projects to offset the impact of the removal of green space along the M25 and A3. A brief overview of the project is below.

The earthworks team is responsible for cut/fill, sub-base and temporary working platforms across the whole project. The cut/fill is occurring around sheet piling operations to remove excess material, after existing bridges have been demolished and back filling behind new bridge abutments. The temporary working platforms are used primarily for sheet piling operations, CFA installation and self-propelled modular transport (SPMT) bridge construction. The construction of the platforms to enable these operations is my primary focus at the moment. Some of the temporary working platforms will be used for enabling horizontal drilling operations for services, something that will become a blog post in the near future. Below is a selection of photos of my time on site so far:

Note: all the photos are from different areas of site but demonstrate the amount and variety of temporary working platforms that are being installed. The sheet piling operations are all temporary works and are being conducted just to install some piled foundations for a bridge abutment. All of that work will be taken out once they have been installed.

A number of challenges have already become apparent on site. As often seems to be the case, there is a disconnect between the designers (who are not geographically co-located with the site team) and the reality on the ground. Some temporary working platforms have co-ordinates that place them in the middle of live traffic which is clearly not a workable solution. Others have half of the platform at the road level and the other half 5 or 6m higher with no scope to batter or step the slope due to site boundaries. When this occurs, a significant amount of time is then spent trying to establish what the designer is trying to achieve and how the platform is going to be used. This involves engagement with designers and sub-contractors so that we can construct something fit for purpose and in the right location.

I’m looking forward to getting more involved in the project; there is a lot going on and I hope to get involved with as much as I can. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.