Polypipe appointed to keep A5 project moving

Galliford Try has selected a Ridgistorm-XL large diameter piping system from Polypipe for use in vital road improvement works on the A5.

The A5 Highway Infrastructure Improvements near Hinckley, Leicestershire, had originally specified a concrete system to provide surface water drainage for the busy highway, as part of wider improvement works.

Having successfully used plastic piping systems for previous large scale projects, main contractor Galliford Try tasked Polypipe with providing an appropriate alternative solution that would meet the demands of the project, but would also prove quicker, safer and easier for contracting teams to install beside the busy highway. 

Utilising the popular Ridgistorm-XL piping system, Polypipe’s design team engineered a solution to match the original 750mm diameter pipe specified to incorporate a single pipe run to sit beneath the road’s verge, complemented by two separate twin runs, with a combined length of more than 400m. 

Polypipe provided structural calculations and assisted consultant engineer Milestone in engineering a reduction in the pipe stiffness from the original specification. This was accepted for use, allowing works to commence as scheduled.

With Ridgistorm-XL being up to 94% lighter in weight than alternative concrete products, it is easier to handle  and reduces the need for heavy plant machinery, allowing benefits to the project including reduced  time and costs of the installation.

The installation time was reduced further still by Polypipe supplying Ridgistorm-XL in 6 metre lengths with ring seal joints, limiting the number of joints required and ensuring that each jointing process was as quick as possible – a vital consideration within a live highways environment.

The pipes were engineered to the exact strength required to meet the ground conditions and installation parameter, in this case stiffness classes 2.67kN/m², 3.056kN/m² and 6kN/m², allowing pipe to withstand external loading during the installation process.

Joe Scurrah, Site Engineer at Galliford Try, said: “With Ridgistorm-XL being able to be manufactured to the minimum stiffness classifications required to suit the site specific ground and loading conditions, Polypipe were able to offer cost savings compared with equivalent concrete systems. 

The benefits of the system being engineered to specific stiffness classes enabled the project to benefit from increased constructability, namely storage on site, speed of the installation and added health and safety benefits of using a plastic piping system.”

Emma Nicholls, Marketing Manager at Polypipe, said: “We are increasingly seeing contractors and installation teams switching from alternative materials in favour of plastic piping systems, particularly in highways applications. In this instance, our team was able to provide a system that will help to keep a vital regional road network operational in all weather conditions.”

The project also included a holistic range of highways solutions from Polypipe, including three Stormcheck flow control chambers, the popular Ridgidrain surface water drainage system in sizes 100mm – 600mm, Ridgistorm-XL saddles for the connection of Ridgidrain to the Ridgistorm-XL pipe system, type 8 Linflex land drainage 100mm-160mm and R.

The project was due for completion in November 2014.