The stabilisation of two new highways cuttings as part of a substantial trunk road widening scheme.  The Glandyfi site is restricted on one side by the estuary and the railway and on the other by a steep, wooded hillside.

The first cutting measured 15m high by 420m long and the second 12m high by 200m long, both formed through unstable slate/mudstone bedrock.

Design required the installation of 800 double corrosion protection (DCP) monobar anchors, with working loads up to 650kN and lengths of 11m.  Extensive multi-cycle suitability and acceptance anchor testing was required in accordance with BS8081.

5500m² of sprayed concrete facing was applied with two layers of heavy gauge weldmesh reinforcement amounting to 3000m³ of concrete in total.  This also included the installation of a backwall drainage system.

With working at height and on narrow benches cut into the hillside different approaches had to be taken across the site.  A combination of drill masts mounted on 8T tracked excavators were used along with a bespoke telehandler basket and compact tracked drill rig.

Three different drill systems were required to cope with the varying ground conditions and hole diameters; these were down-the-hole (DTH), drifter and cased drilling.

Duration:       1 year +

Client:            Carillion Civil Engineering

Location:       A470, close to Aberystwyth, Wales