Product category:
Drainage Services
News Release from: GD Environmental Services | Subject: CCTV drain surveys
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 August 2006
GD Environmental and CCTV drain surveys
GD Environmental's mine rescue expert comes to Costain's aid.
The Porth Relief Road is said to be the largest civil engineering contract of its kind in the UK, consisting of 8 kilometres of new or greatly improved road and 11 bridges When it is completed in December this year, it will open up the Rhondda Valley to traffic in a major way and relieve congestion in Porth town centre
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 13 Jul 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Main Contractor Costain recently ran into a small but tricky problem during the road's construction.
A stone built culvert, presumed to be 19th Century, was noticed on the upside of the valley a short way from the carriageway.
Clearly it had to be established whether the culvert was performing a useful purpose and to discover the size of the drain beyond it before the best remedial measures for the new road could be decided.
Fortunately Costain had previously used a local company GD Environmental for other work on the project and the Site Manager knew that GD also specialised in CCTV drain surveys.
In fact GD could do better than merely a CCTV survey since Chris Jordan, a member of staff, is an accredited Mine Rescue Expert, a qualification recognised throughout the world.
Being qualified to work in confined spaces, Chris readily agreed to investigate the drain in person.
Armed with all the appropriate safety gear, he entered the 1,000mm diameter drain entrance and quite quickly established that the culvert was still effectively channelling rainwater drainage from the upper valley side down for discharge, presumably into the River Rhondda below.
Chris explored sixty metres of the sloping drainway before the passage suddenly reduced to only 300mm.
It being too dangerous to proceed further himself, Chris then set up a one of GD's CCTV remote cameras which showed the drain open and active up to the far side of the new road's carriageway.
Job done in two days! Costain took the appropriate action to reinforce the area over the old drain and construction was able to proceed as normal.
GD Environmental's Managing Director James Norvill points out that his company is probably the only one in that part of Wales that could have handled the work.
"We deal in specialist niche markets." he said "Drain surveying is one of them although our core business is in waste management and recycling".
"Never mind, this little culvert gave Chris a happy couple of days where he likes it, underground".
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