Skip to main content

TRL assist Highways Agency with UK motorway hole investigation

TRL provided a rapid response when asked for help as part of the investigation of the recent appearance of a Dene Hole in the central reservation of the M2 in Kent, southeast England. Within a few hours of being asked for assistance, TRL was able to mobilise a team to be onsite to provide two coring rigs and staff to undertake investigations of the carriageway in one lane either side of the hole, between junctions 5 near Sittingbourne and 6, near Faversham, to establish its integrity. The carriageway is co
February 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
777 TRL provided a rapid response when asked for help as part of the investigation of the recent appearance of a Dene Hole in the central reservation of the M2 in Kent, southeast England.

Within a few hours of being asked for assistance, TRL was able to mobilise a team to be onsite to provide two coring rigs and staff to undertake investigations of the carriageway in one lane either side of the hole, between junctions 5 near Sittingbourne and 6, near Faversham, to establish its integrity. The carriageway is constructed of jointed reinforced concrete with a thick asphalt overlay.

Two TRL teams working round the clock cored approximately 38 holes to help determine the extent of the problem.

The hole has been filled with pea gravel and the motorway is open, with two lanes running in each direction around the hole. The M2 is expected to fully re-open tomorrow (Thursday) morning.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Ground penetrating radar used to investigate tunnel deterioration
    May 13, 2015
    Using ground penetrating radar to determine reason for serious pavement settling in Kentucky-Tennessee tunnel Just a few years after the opening of the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, highway officials noticed moderate to severe settling of the continuously reinforced concrete pavement. The mountain tunnel provides an important link between Kentucky and Tennessee along US25E and the problem looked serious, with many voids discovered beneath the pavement surface. To investigate the problems, the Kentucky Transpor
  • Managing urban motorway complexity in Sydney
    October 4, 2012
    Sydney’s Hills M2 motorway is being widened while still carrying traffic and meeting tough environmental criteria More than 100,000 vehicles and over 27,000 bus commuters use the Hills M2 motorway on a typical workday, making it one of Sydney’s busiest motorway corridors. Owned and managed by Hills Motorway Ltd (HML) and a key part of the city’s orbital motorway network, the road stretches over 21km, providing a seamless link between the Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7. The Hills M2 Upgrade is one of many
  • HA dismantles footbridge over M5 in England
    January 3, 2013
    Contractors worked solidly throughout the night during one Saturday and early Sunday morning in November (2012) to dismantle the Pegwell Brake footbridge over the M5 near Bristol, south west England. The concrete footbridge, located between junctions 16 and 17, needed to be demolished to make way for a new steel pedestrian bridge suitable for high-sided vehicles to pass under when the managed motorway is fully operational and the hard shoulder is used as a running lane. The dismantling and removal of the
  • Turkey’s new Marmara Highway project
    June 8, 2017
    By the end of 2018, a shiny new strip of asphalt will skirt around Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, providing a new transport connection.