Winning Innovation
14 July 2010
While the near completed bypass for Church Village in
Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, is bringing relief to the
communities along the previously congested A473, the first use of a
revolutionary manhole system is also making life easier for design
and build contractor Costain.
The contractor trialled more than 150 of Kijlstra's square
pre-cast concrete manholes on the three-year, £90 million project -
the largest highways project undertaken by any local authority in
the UK - and will now use them on every suitable future
project.
The Kijlstra system can typically be installed up to 16 times
quicker than traditional systems on standard units. At Church
Village, it took from as little as an hour for each system to be
excavated, supported, bed prepped, transported to the precise
location, installed and backfilled.
Manufactured from self-compacting concrete and poured
monolithically with benching to guarantee optimum size consistency
and strength, the system is combined with a perfect finish that
gives a 120-year design life.
And once on site, the Kijlstra standard square manhole can be
typically installed by just a couple of men and an excavator in 30
minutes compared to the one to two days it takes on average to
install traditional round manholes. This off-site ability means the
Kijlstra system is cost effective in multiple ways, from requiring
less men, materials and plant to start with, to taking less time,
and therefore money, to install.
In addition, because the manufacturing process ensures the
square manholes are just as strong and robust as their
predecessors, they do not need reinforcing or shuttering, saving
more time and minimising Health and Safety issues.
The new Bypass was procured by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough
Council and was funded by means of a Transport Grant from the Welsh
Assembly Government. The Church Village Bypass runs through the
basin of a valley, with a significant part intersecting wetlands
and marsh area so the geography of the area made the drainage works
a very significant part of the construction.
The Kijlstra manholes are located in various locations
throughout the site that comprises seven kilometres of single
carriageway, 1.5km of side roads, four roundabouts, one overbridge,
one underpass, three footbridges and nine major culverts, with
significant utilities interface and mine treatment works.
The project's Roadworks Manager, John Lee, said: "This project
has presented challenging conditions but the many benefits of using
the Kijlstra system meant we were able to counter these challenges
throughout.
He added, "Product quality is excellent and as the system is
factory-produced, quality is assured. As the manholes are benched
and finished in the factory, once installed no further work is
required which saves a significant amount of time. This also
eliminates the need for confined space entry normally associated
with finishing works required for traditional systems."
The project's Drainage Quantity Surveyor, Joshua Edwards, added:
"The system reduces volume of construction and helps drive down
waste which makes our operations more efficient, leading to
potential cost savings and improvements to the programme of
delivery."
When asked why the project team chose to trial the Kijlstra
manholes, Mr Lee added: "As a company, Costain is always looking to
innovate to improve delivery to our clients and the Kijlstra system
has helped us to achieve this delivery. Our aim is to use Kijlstra
products on forthcoming projects where the full benefits of the
system can be realised."