The A629 Phase 1b, Halifax to Huddersfield Improvement Scheme focuses on relieving traffic flow around the junction of Huddersfield Road, Stainland Road, and Wakefield Road which is located just south of Halifax town. Part of this improvement involves the construction of a new bridge spanning the Calder and Hebble navigation.
P J Edwards were appointed by Sisk to install piled foundations for this bridge along with other works on the scheme including a contiguous piled retaining wall, and foundations for a second bridge structure located nearer to the town centre.
Link Road Canal Bridge
Piling work on the main canal bridge started in May 22 with installation of 58no. 900mm diameter piles drilled to depths of 19.5m required for the west abutment. The piles on the west abutment were designed with very long sockets into the underlying hard mudstone. In this case P J Edwards were able to benefit for the high torque Llamada P150 CFA rig in achieving the required pile length in very hard drilling conditions which meant time and cost benefit to the client.
The east abutment for the canal bridge also had it's own challenges with the location sandwiched between the existing A629 at a high level, and the canal itself. In conjunction with Sisk, and WSP the scheme designer, P J Edwards were able to advise on both buildability and logistics for this difficult work area which avoided the need to lift in a heavy rig from the A629 which would have required a disruptive and costly road closure. For the east abutment a total of 67no. 750mm piles were installed to depths of 20m, again requiring significant sockets into the underlying bedrock. As for the west abutment, piles were installed using CFA techniques using a Llamada P150 rig.
Punchbowl Retaining Wall
In September 2022, P J Edwards also installed a small length of contiguous piled retaining wall which was required to retain an existing side road whilst allowing widening of the main A629 running into Halifax. The wall involved installation of 15no. 750mm diameter piles to a depth of 13.5m which were founded in a combination of hard siltstones and mudstones, but with the added requirement to drill through the remaining foundations of a building that had been demolished as part of the widening works. P J Edwards also had input into the final piled solution for this structure and due to the very tight working area, and the potential inground obstructions, a rotary technique was adopted using 880mm segmental casing in conjunction with a small Casagrande B105 drilling rig.
Salterhebble Hill River Bridge
The final element of piling work to be carried out by P J Edwards on the project was installation of a small number of piles for extension of an existing bridge over Hebble Brook. These piles were installed in May 23 and included 13no. 750mm diameter piles to depths of 11.5m. Working space in this location was incredibly restricted when compared to the size of pile required to be installed. Through careful planning with the Sisk site team the piles were successfully installed using a Soilmec SR20 rig in CFA mode.