Picture caption: A skateboarder on a standard, non-wonky road
It has taken 7,500 tonnes of stone, £5.9 million and just over three years to turn a skateboarders’ and BMX riders’ paradise back into a usable road.
The B4069 in Lyneham Banks, Wiltshire was closed in February 2022 after a landslip left huge cracks in it. Pictures showed gaping holes, including images of trees slipping into one of the cracks.
However, photographs and videos shared online also showed that BMX bikers and skaters had been enjoying using the broken land as ramps. Wiltshire Council had warned against this, as the land was still slipping, meaning further landslides were possible.
Overall, 90 metres of road was lost, which sounds like a short section, but serious engineering works were required to get the road back in action. A major issue for the project was that the road was still slowly sliding away. This is partly why the project took so long, as work could not begin until the land had mostly stopped moving. Roads don’t appreciate movement or water, so both would need to be dealt with to ensure stability.
The engineering element of the project took the bulk of the time. Adding tarmac and road markings only took one week. As I often say, engineering takes creativity as well as practical skills, and the solution the engineers have come up with to support the new road took around 25,000 work hours to design and implement.
These hours included ground investigations, and massive excavators and cranes were needed. Earth was removed to make the area more stable, followed by the addition of a 108-metre-long retaining wall.
Bored piles – big concrete pillars – were used, with 120 of these being driven into the ground to a depth of 14 metres. Then a large beam was put on top. No one could argue that the new road is not well supported!
In addition, new drainage was added above and below the road, with 560m of draining channels, grates and 1,000 tonnes of stone counterforts. Vegetation was also planted for stability.
The solution has been designed to last around 120 years, which is a relief for locals. Residents of neighbouring villages had to put up with 5,500 vehicles a day being diverted past their homes while the work was going on.
On the plus side, at least this one didn’t take quite as long as the A465 Heads of the Valleys road that I mentioned a few weeks ago. And an additional positive is that this road won’t be plagued with potholes for at least a short while.
Meanwhile, if you need any assistance with the structural elements of an upcoming project, please do get in touch.
