Skip to main content

Pumping aids tunnel improvement work

In the UK, the busy Dartford Tunnel has benefited from the use of powerful pumping technology during improvements intended to boost traffic flow. Pump hire specialist, Sykes Pumps, helped by providing a pumping system, so as to enable piling for the conversion programme to a fully-electronic payment infrastructure.
July 28, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSIn the UK, the busy Dartford Tunnel has benefited from the use of powerful pumping technology during improvements intended to boost traffic flow. Pump hire specialist, 8165 Sykes Pumps, helped by providing a pumping system, so as to enable piling for the conversion programme to a fully-electronic payment infrastructure.

Providing a route across the River Thames linking Dartford in Kent with Thurrock in Essex, the Dartford Crossing forms part of the M25 Motorway and comprises two tunnels and a bridge. High traffic volumes have led to increased congestion at the toll booths over the past few years, leading to the 2309 Highways Agency’s decision to introduce a fully-electronic payment system, which requires remote payment online, by phone, via a payzone retail outlet, or by post.

The upgrade to the payment system necessitated significant changes to the infrastructure at the entrance to each of the tunnels and contractor, Jackson Civil Engineering, needed to carry out piling works to install new traffic management barriers. As the site is so close to the river, Jackson anticipated rising water when each pile was removed and brought in Sykes pumps to specify a pumping system that would remove any excess water prior to the concrete pour.

Sykes Pumps provided two GP 100M diesel pumps along with hoses and a settlement tank to create a flexible water attenuation system. The specified system disposed of low levels of nuisance water at the piles, using a duty pump.  Where piling work saw larger volumes of water, the standby pump was deployed and the water was transported 400m via hoses to the settlement tank, where sediment was removed before the water was released into the sewer system.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • FETC innovation from Highway Toll to ITS Taiwan smart city
    March 6, 2017
    FETC innovation from Highway Toll to ITS Taiwan smart city – a Global Road Achievement Award winner says IRF. The Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Company (FETC) has a bold vision for the future. FETC has achieved the most successful BOT project for ITS traf_ c management; it turns the traditional highway toll collection system into an integrated intelligent electronic toll collection (ETC) system for mobility management.
  • New road tunnels are planned for Switzerland
    July 24, 2012
    Two key tunnel projects are being planned in Switzerland at present, for projects at Jura and Gothard. The Swiss Federal Department for Infrastructure Uvek now intends to build a third tunnel at Jura Mountain by 2022. This will be the third link for Motorway 2 and will be completed before renovation work is carried out on the two existing tunnels. The new link will provide four lanes and ensure traffic flow continues while the existing links are improved. The construction of the third tunnel is expected to
  • Winning formula for formwork
    July 19, 2012
    An unusual application of formwork took place recently in France, while formwork using one particular engineering construction kit was used for the first time in Poland. Guy Woodford reports An 80m long wild game underpass is an innovative feature of the Route Nationale 88 (RN 88) expansion in south-west France. For construction of the arched underpass tunnel, a PERI tunnel formwork carriage using VARIOKIT engineering construction kit was used. Thanks to the equipment’s easy handling, along with pre-assembl
  • Diamond in the Pearl: China’s Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge complex
    March 8, 2018
    People in the Pearl River Delta are celebrating the Chinese New Year with the imminent opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. David Arminas reviews progress. China’s Spring Festival, or Lunar New Year, is celebrated with the usual enthusiasm and spectacular fireworks. But celebrations will be particularly joyous for many people in the southern Pearl River Delta. The soon-to-be-open Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) will slash travel time between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Zhuh