ABG Deckdrain A14 Structural Drainage
25th September, 2020
The A14 is a strategic trunk road which runs between the M1 Catthorpe Interchange and Felixstowe. The A14 is dual carriageway for most of its route and carries up to 85,000 vehicles per day, of which many are HGVs heading to the Port of Felixstowe. Volumes of traffic are now much greater than were anticipated by the original design. The stretch between Cambridge and Huntingdon is one especially prone to peak time delays and has a poor safety history. Highways England, along with their delivery partner A14 Integrated Delivery Team, are upgrading the carriageway to improve safety, improve air quality and unlock development potential in the area. The project involved the construction of a number of structures which were on the key timeline of the project. Many of these structures were of a considerable size and required structural drainage that could be rapidly and safely installed. Traditional methods such as porous blocks were deemed to be slow to construct, and posed a high risk of damaging the waterproofing when being manoeuvred into place. Manual handling equipment is required to install traditional systems and construction output is typically low. Furthermore, due to their size and weight, moving materials around on site posed significant logistical problems. Other options considered, such as no-fines concrete, required formwork and were expensive to place. Often additional earthworks operations are required further slowing scheme progression.
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