Winsham Emergency Works

As a result of a partial wingwall failure of a Rail Bridge over the River Axe, near Chard in early Jan 2022 an emergency temporary speed restriction had been imposed on the track. In order to remove this Suttle Projects were contracted to install 30 nos. AS-30 Vulcan Ground Anchors of approximately 6m lengths to provide structural integrity of the embankment crest.

The Ground Anchors were installed using handheld equipment by rope access trained operatives, on a 1m grid and tensioned to approx. 30 KN before fixing A393 mesh and a geotextile membrane behind.undefined" alt="" width="3" height="17" />

A further design is being finalised to incorporate a piled structure at the embankment toe and riverbank. Some of the early stages of work were completed in the daytime over a weekend long rail possession, aligned with other critical works in the area but most of the emergency works had to be carried out during the night to avoid any disruption to the railway line.