Green Lane Rail
Tensar helped deliver a steep-sided rail overbridge embankment with a vegetated finish over weak ground, minimising the impact on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in South Wales.
Benefits
- Granular load transfer platform alternative to reinforced concrete slab
- Enabling fast construction over very weak ground
- Minimising environmental impact within a SSSI
A new embankment was needed for a replacement road bridge over a railway, as part of Network Rail’s electrification of the Great Western Mainline. Ground conditions were poor, with deep deposits of very weak alluvial clay, plus the site was in a SSSI. Main contractor Alun Griffiths had to provide a new embankment, up to 5m high, with a natural vegetated finish.
Tensar’s TensarTech Greenslope system enabled the 70 ̊ slopes to be vegetated, using galvanised steel mesh panels to achieve the 120-year design liferequired by Network Rail. Tensar’s Basetex high-strength geotextile reinforced the 900mm thick load transfer platform, transmitting loads onto the grid of piles supporting the embankment.
