Chelveston Rd, Higham Ferrers

Our brief

Lithos Consulting were commissioned by ISG to carry out an investigation for proposed Section 278 works at the junction of the B645 (Chelveston Road) and their site at Moulton College, Higham Ferrers.  The proposed Section 278 works include widening of the existing single carriageway to include a centre-placed right-turn filter lane.  Consequently, an investigation was required in order to:

• Ascertain the existing road construction
• Obtain design values (CBRs) for the natural soils in areas of proposed widening
• Locate the line of existing underground utilities which will be affected by the S278 works

What we did

Prior to mobilising, Lithos liaised with the adopting authority (Northamptonshire Highways) in order to put together an appropriate specification for the ground investigation.  The scope of works designed and organised by Lithos had to consider the requirements of Northamptonshire Highways, ISG and heath & safety risks associated with working on a live highway whilst looking for underground services.

The investigation was carefully planned to minimise time of site, which therefore meant lower costs for our client, and less disruption to road users.  Safety of our site workers and our staff was managed through use of appropriate traffic management and minimally invasive techniques such as vacuum extraction around services.  This meant we obtained the data we needed in a timely and safe manner.

Outcome

Our report included design values for the natural soils and commentary regarding likely requirements for the widening in accordance with Northamptonshire Highways’ requirements.