Client pipeline inspection temporary access road success
The project
Davis Trackhire provided a temporary access road for a a major UK energy distribution company to enable inspection works at two locations along a high-pressure gas pipeline.
The project required a robust temporary access solution capable of supporting personnel, plant and equipment across exceptionally challenging ground conditions.
The challenge
One of the key challenges was the incredibly saturated ground conditions, with the access route crossing an old pond. The ground was too soft to provide a reliable working surface, making a stable, load-bearing temporary roadway essential.
The access route also needed to be adapted as the inspection works progressed, requiring us to respond to multiple short-notice requests from our client.
Our temporary access road solution
Davis Trackhire installed a quadruple-element aluminium Trackway system, creating a multi-layered temporary access road designed to distribute loads across the saturated ground.
The system consisted of four layers of aluminium trackway panels:
- 9m-wide bottom layer
- 7.2m-wide second layer
- 7.2m-wide third layer
- 6m-wide top layer
Cross-bonded for stability
The aluminium panels were cross-bonded between layers to reduce flex within the temporary access system. This created a more rigid and stable load-bearing roadway, providing the strength and reliability required for access over the saturated ground while maintaining a practical road width for site access.
Installation and delivery
We responded to multiple short-notice requests from our client to install and extend the trackway as the inspection works progressed.
This allowed the temporary access route to be adapted to the changing requirements of the project while maintaining safe and reliable access for personnel, plant and equipment.
The quadruple-element installation provided a robust temporary roadway over the old pond, overcoming the challenging ground conditions and enabling the pipeline inspection works to proceed.
The outcome
The completed Trackway system delivered a rigid, load-bearing temporary access road across the saturated ground, providing our client with the safe and reliable access required to carry out its pipeline inspections.
The project demonstrates how a multi-layered aluminium Trackway solution can overcome exceptionally challenging ground conditions, providing a stable temporary roadway where conventional access would not have been possible.
