Specialist construction solutions Groundforce Shorco have supplied a comprehensive range of trench boxes plus associated safety products, to enable George Leslie to carry out a waste water rising main development to make space for new infrastructure development at Cambuslang.
When civil engineering contractor George Leslie, who are undertaking the works found the ground conditions were not going to require heavy-duty trench boxes for all their requirements, they were able to source lighter versions from the same construction supplier – Groundforce Shorco.
George Leslie had already installed 18m of Groundforce Shorco’s Premier Trench Boxes on the project when the first Covid lockdown kicked in. This enabled the company to review the requirements, backfill the excavation, and prepare to restart with Groundforce’s Standard Trench Boxes. Which are significantly lighter than the larger Premier Boxes, providing greater flexibility and handling.
Work re-started in July and now more than 30 of the medium-duty standard base units, each with two top units to cater for the 4.5m deep trench, have been laid along 125m at the site close to Junction 2 of the M74. A further 160m will be laid when a new route for the remaining sewer pipes is finalised.
The Groundforce trench box bases, at 3.5m long and 2.6m high, were each supplemented by two 1.3m high top units, the EdgeSafe lightweight mesh barrier system, and ladder access points., Where services were encountered in the 1.2m wide excavation, this was supported with KD6 trench sheets and 3.9m long heavy duty hydraulic walers.
The Groundforce Standard Boxes, which can be used in trenches up to 5.2m deep in conjunction with up to two top extension units, for Phases 1 and 2 of the development had to be installed along a live road with lane closures in operation.
George Leslie site manager Craig Paterson said: “For the length of pipe we were putting in there were a lot of concrete foundations to dig out. This, plus the fact we had to maintain access for local businesses as there was no diversion possible, made it very challenging.
“But Groundforce was excellent throughout. We have a good working relationship with them, and their trench boxes do just what they say on the tin.”