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

  • ProTec-Tor 120 offers rapid access for emergency services
    June 28, 2017
    Mobile road restraint systems at roadworks, such as the narrow, high-containment ProTec family of crash barriers, prevent users from leaving the carriageway and heading into oncoming traffic and make it essentially safer to work on site. To keep vehicles moving at roadworks, it may be necessary to take the traffic through a lane onto the oncoming carriageway because the actual directional carriageway is being resurfaced. To separate the contraflow traffic, the individual crash barrier elements are connected
  • Work begins on Stockholm’s new bypass
    August 22, 2016
    The first tunnels are being excavated for the huge bypass tunnel in Sweden’s capital Stockholm – Adrian Greeman writes. After years of preparation and design, blasting and rock moving for Sweden's largest infrastructure project began south of the city this year. It sets in train a decade-long project that will create a new half-ring dual three-lane motorway for the city, 20km long. With most of it deep underground, it will also be one of Europe's largest ever road tunnels. The scheme is aimed at transformin
  • Formwork plays a leading role in global infrastructure projects
    June 13, 2012
    New and highly regarded existing formwork systems have been used in major recent transport-related construction projects across the globe. Guy Woodford looks at some of their applications The multi-million dollar Mississippi River Bridge project in the United State is creating a vital new gateway between Illinois and Missouri. Central to the project is the realignment and reconstruction of Interstate 70 and a new landmark bridge, featuring two pylons projecting vertically from the Mississippi river bed w
  • Norway’s record breaking undersea road tunnel
    February 25, 2015
    The world's deepest road tunnel is currently in construction near Stavanger in Norway but is only the prelude to even larger projects - report and photographs by Adrian Greeman. Norway's convoluted coastline of fjords and high mountains is famously scenic but also a major problem for transport and connections. The country has long experience of constructing tunnels as a result. Now a series of tunnels underway, or in design, around the oil industry city of Stavanger will stretch its skills more than usual.