Skip to main content

Quick to install embankment support

Technology from Tensar played a vital role along the Dishforth-Leeming section of the North Yorkshire A1 improvement work in northern England where new carriageways are being built adjacent to the existing in-use highway.
February 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Technology from 340 Tensar played a vital role along the Dishforth-Leeming section of the North Yorkshire A1 improvement work in northern England where new carriageways are being built adjacent to the existing in-use highway.

By using a Tensartech TR2 Wall solution to create a temporary structure while raising a below grade section, the 2435 Carillion/2567 Morgan Sindall joint venture contractors are saving time and helping to minimise traffic disruption.

The existing 150m section of the A1 road either side of the Butcher House Bridge is up to 10m below the final required grade of the new motorway. An earth retaining structure with a near vertical face was required to support the new dual three-lane carriageway, which would allow the traffic to be switched to it while the old section was filled.

The conventional technique using extensive sheet piling along the embankment and for the bridge abutments to relieve lateral thrust would have been time consuming, and access for the equipment could have disrupted traffic flow.

Tensar developed a quick-to-install reinforced earth solution. With minimal disturbance to vehicles it temporarily supported the new south-bound embankment, bridge wing walls and abutments.

The contractor explained that as a temporary sacrificial structure, this was by far the best option and less expensive than other methods available.

The solution comprised compacted fill reinforced with layers of Tensar's uniaxial geogrid, securely connected to steel mesh facing units to form a 100m length of the 85˚ earth retaining structure up to 152 3M high; site won fill was used for this section.

For the bridge abutments and wing walls, a 26m length of vertical faced TR2 face, using imported granular fill and uniaxial geogrids, was built up to 9.5m. At either end of the embankment, a 45˚ slope was constructed using Tensartech.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New traffic solutions for the UK
    July 15, 2015
    Two major developments being introduced will help optimise traffic flow on routes carrying high volumes of vehicles/day. An installation of Flexicon’s flexible conduit will help keep the traffic flowing on one of the busiest sections of the M6 motorway through Birmingham by protecting power and data cabling for overhead gantries and CCTV cameras. On behalf of Highways England, who is implementing a hard shoulder running scheme between junctions 5 and 8, contractor’s Carillion is using the 63mm diameter L
  • Mabey Hire supports the Whorlton Bridge
    June 10, 2025

    Whorlton Bridge in England’s County Durham has had to be closed to traffic while a major programme of works is carried out. Every component is to be removed, refurbished and replaced.

    To facilitate the works, a bespoke catenary system has been installed, with Mabey Hire’s adaptable and modular propping equipment used to construct the temporary structure.

  • New Angolan bridge offers improved connectivity
    September 30, 2013
    Drivers in Angola are benefiting from a bridge that spans the Catumbela River, taking the place of an old structure that had proven not fit for purpose. The US$35 million cable stayed bridge is located in the highway between Benguela and Lobito, around 7km from Angola’s Atlantic coast and is one of a series of new infrastructure developments in the country. Angola suffered a long period of war that impacted on its people and infrastructure. The war resulted in severe damage to the country’s road system alon
  • Pilosio and CMC Ravenna collaborate on Cornubia Interchange
    June 4, 2019
    The South African branch of the Italian construction company CMC di Ravenna again teamed up with formwork specialist Pilosio to take advantage of Pilosio's solutions. This time it was for construction of a new bridge in the city of Durban, a project named N2/Cornubia Interchange. The overpass will streamline traffic by linking the Umhlanga industrial zone with the Cornubia new development area Tongat. Cornubia is a multibillion rand integrated settlement near Umhlanga, north of Durban, in KwaZulu Natal,