Avoiding Motorway Mayhem - ATM Birmingham Box GI

This scheme is a Highways Agency funded project to introduce control and signaling of the M40, M42 and M6 motorway network adjacent to the Birmingham conurbation, expanding on the Active Traffic Management Pilot project which has been in operation on the M42 since September 2006.

The ATM project, overseen by Manchester and Birmingham based Consultants Mouchel and Engineer Amey Mouchel, is designed to provide congestion relief benefits for peak-time motorway traffic, without the need for widening or land take.

Geotechnical Engineering Limited were mobilized to site from May to December 2008, and completed the investigation of over two hundred boreholes on time, to the satisfaction of the Engineer with no reportable Health and Safety incidents.

We used a range of investigative techniques, including hand held boreholes for contamination sampling, Terrier and Pioneer boreholes and our unique and award-winning P60 Slope Climbing Rig.  The drilling phase was fully supervised by our own Engineering Geologists, who also undertook or organized insitu and laboratory testing, surveying, soil and rock logging and Factual Reporting.

The challenge of organizing multiple rigs working alongside one of the busiest motorways networks in Europe was controlled by the rigorous use of safe working practices, traffic management, safety barriers and night working on particularly busy sections.

The use of the P60 Slope Climbing Rig reduced mobilization and de-mobilization to individual borehole locations and negated the use of scaffolding platforms and PASMA certificates at those locations where these would have been necessary for a ‘standard’ drilling rig, considerably lowering the overall cost and time that would have been needed to complete the investigation.

All site vehicles and personnel were compliant with the regulations required for working on the highway, including double flashing light bar beacon, chevrons, motorway maintenance stickers and full personal protective equipment (PPE).  Mobile welfare facilities were provided at each rig location in the form of a van complete with mess unit, water flush toilet and washing facilities.  All our ‘motorway’ fleet vehicles and welfare units were fitted with reversing cameras.

The Ground Investigation encountered variable geology on the motorway network including extensive Made Ground deposits, concrete obstructions, superficial glacial mixed glacial deposits including the deep water bearing gravels of the Proto-Tame Channel, worked Coal Measures and Mercia Mudstone.