Vehicle Crossover, Daventry

Vehicle Crossover Dropped Kerb

Projects

Vehicle Crossover, Daventry case study

We’ve known Tom for a few years now, so we were please to be asked to install a vehicle crossover for him in Daventry.

Location
Daventry, Northamptonshire
Client
Tom, homeowner
Value
Circa £3,800
Transport-Truck-02

About the project

When Tom approached us, he had already sought permission from Northants County Council for a vehicle crossover – commonly known as a ‘dropped kerb’. He already had a crossover but it was too small and was not central to his new block-paved driveway that he’d recently had done. It was great that he already had permission from Highways, but we still needed to do a Section 184 to Northants Highways, this is in effect a licence to ‘dig up the pavement’ and install a new crossover. Highways processed our licence within a few weeks and then agreed to allow us to use the licence 10 days later.

Our Solution

The work included to bring all manner of signs, barriers and cones to site and to fence off the work area. Highways agreed that footpath on ‘this’ side of the road could be closed, and that the pedestrians could be diverted to the footpath on the other side of the road, as is usual on a quiet road such as this. The existing footpath was excavated to the required depth to allow the correct amount of Type 1 MOT to be installed and compacted, in preparation for the tarmac. The kerbs at the front of the footpath had to be removed and replaced with new ‘6×5’ dropped kerbs laid in concrete. These kerbs were finished at either end with ‘dropper’ kerbs, this is where the dropped kerbs transition to full-height road kerbs either side of the new crossover. Luckily there were no manhole covers within the new crossover, only a small water meter, which had to be incorporated within the new tarmac.

Summary

All of the preparation work was done on Day 1, with the tarmac laid on day in two stages – the tarmac ‘base course’ being laid first thing, and the 6mm top coat thereafter. The crossover was allowed to cool for a few hours in the afternoon, signs and barriers were removed, and Tom had full use of his driveway that evening! He was only without vehicular access to his driveway for 2 days. As is usual with all such crossovers in the Highway, JW Clark are responsible for the crossover for 2 years during a ‘maintenance period’ agreed with Highways, after which Highways take back responsibility for it.

Customer review

“Thanks for the great job on the dropped kerb, it looks fantastic. The team were professional and excellent on communicating, also completely accurate with timings. A smooth and easy process from enquiry right through to the completion. JW Clark handled the paperwork/licenses, which was really helpful. 🙂”
Tom Stevens
Homeowner

Sewer Connection, Sywell

Sywell Northants Sewer Connection JW Clark

Projects

Sywell case study

Having done many such projects for Tom at Fountain Construction, we were pleased to be asked to quote for another connection to the public sewer for one property in Sywell, Northants.

Location
Sywell, Northamptonshire
Client
Fountain Construction, property developers & building specialists
Value
Circa £9k
Sewer Connections - Building-Site-Scene - JW Clark

Objective

Having done many such projects for Tom at Fountain Construction, we were pleased to be asked to quote for another connection to the public sewer for one property in Sywell, Northants. Tom and his team had laid all the pipework in private property up to the boundary and we were asked to lay all the pipework in the Highway and to make connection onto the public sewer. As part of our package we also priced for facilitating the Section 106 application to Anglian Water and also the Section 50 application to Northants Highways. Tom already had the AW asset drawing which had been downloaded from Digdat, and this showed the public sewer to be a bit less than 2m deep.

Our Solution

The Section 106 was to include for some surface water to discharge into the sewer. Tom supplied us with drainage drawings which detailed attenuation within the site, after which a significantly reduced-flow of surface water would be allowed to discharged into the public sewer – soakaways were not a suitable means of discharging of rainwater, due to the heavy-clay nature of the ground.

The Section 106 was passed within 10 days on this basis, and we then proceeded to apply for the Section 50 to Northants Highways. The road would have been suitable for ‘give and take’ traffic management, however the work was just past the brow of a hill, and traffic in each direction did not have very clear line of sight, of oncoming traffic. So it was decided to apply for 2-way lights for this reason. Our application to Highways was approved just under three weeks after submission to them.

About the Project

We located the existing 150mm sewer at 1.9m deep in the road. The excavation was made safe throughout with trench sheets and the connection made by junction insertion. We then excavated for and laid the pipework all the way to the kerbline, and reinstated the carriageway. With the carriageway resurfaced, we diverted pedestrians onto the carriageway into a purposely set-up pedestrian walkway, after which we continued to excavate in the grass verge and footpath. We laid the pipework to the site boundary, and reinstated the verge and footpath.

Timeline

Time taken to quote for the works: 1 week

Time taken to obtain Section 106 Licence: 2 weeks

Time taken to obtain Section 50 Licence: 3 weeks

Leadtime to use S50 Licence: 3 weeks

Time taken to do the work: 4 days

Total time: 10 weeks

Do you need a sewer connection needs doing? Don’t leave it too late, most people do! Read our article here: How long does it take to do a sewer connection?

It was a pleasure to work with Tom again and we look forward to our next project with him.

Sewer Connection, Hendon

Hendon case study - sewer connections

Projects

Hendon case study

We were approached by Ivaro Ltd to facilitate a connection to the public sewer for a block of flats in Hendon, London.

Location
Hendon, London
Client
Ivaro Ltd, property developers
Value
Circa £60k
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Objective

We were approached by Ivaro Ltd to facilitate a connection to the public sewer for a block of flats in Hendon, London. In this instance, the sewer did not run past the new development in the Highway, and we found the closest public sewer to be 60 metres away in the carriageway, in the middle of a busy 4-way junction.

Our Solution

We had meetings with architects working on behalf of Ivaro Ltd, to help put plans together to detail the most cost-effective connection to the existing sewer. This included to connect onto the pipework laid by the developer at the boundary, after which point we extended the pipework into the road by 8 metres where we built a virgin inspection chamber in the Highway, and where the run would turn at 90 degrees before heading along the carriageway square with the kerb line. The new run of sewer would continue down the Highway for 60 metres to meet with the existing public sewer on a busy junction, whereby we would build an inspection chamber on top of the existing public sewer.

We had a Zoom call with an office-based engineer from Thames Water, and with our customer and their architect participating also, whereby we detailed our plans. These plans were approved in theory on the Zoom call, and the architect proceeded to compile drawings to this effect. These were then submitted as part of a Section 106 to Thames Water on behalf of our customer Ivaro Ltd, and the approval was given within a couple of weeks.

About the Project

With the Section 106 approval in place, we were then able to apply for the Section 50 licence with Barnet Highways. The application process included a site meeting with Barnet Highways whereby we detailed the technical aspect of carrying out the works in the Highway, and the traffic management that we proposed to use. For the bulk of the works we agreed on ‘give and take’ traffic management, with an official parking suspension for the duration of the works, to ensure that cars could not be parked in the vicinity of the works. For the connection point on the busy 4-way junction, we agreed on a 4-day road closure on one of the 4 roads, with this closed road being used to carry out the bulk of the work from, and where plant and materials would be stored. The 4-day road closure had to be done to coincide with a local school being closed on a Friday and Monday, and therefore our works on the junction would run from the Friday to the Monday, with us working over the weekend, to make the connection to the public sewer and to construct the new inspection chamber, with final tarmac reinstatement being done on the Monday, and all roads being opened again early on the Tuesday ready for the reopening of the school.

With the road closure in mind, we took care of the TTRO applications to Barnet Highways on behalf of our customer, and instructed a Traffic Management company to facilitate the road closure, including the vehicular diversion. This included us submitting traffic management and diversion plans to Barnet Highways.

Prior to us ‘breaking ground’ in the Highway, the application process to Thames Water and Barnet Highways for the Section 106 notice, the Section 50 notice and the TTRO application, took around 12 weeks in total. Once on site, the works were completed in just under three weeks, including the weekend work. All of these properties were occupied within weeks of the completion of our works.

Whilst working on Bell Lane, Hendon, we received many cups of tea from the locals, many of whom were extremely complimentary about the manner of our employees and the way in which the works were carried out from start to finish. A Koscher bakery existed within the works area, and the owner dutifully came out every morning with free cakes for all of our employees, which was an extremely heart-warming experience.

Timeline

Time taken to quote for the works: Less than 1 week

Time taken to obtain Section 106 Licence: 3 weeks

Time taken to obtain Section 50 Licence: 4 weeks

Leadtime to use S50 Licence: 3 months required due to part-road closure for the works

Time taken to do the work: 2.5 weeks  

Total time: 19 weeks

Do you need a sewer connection needs doing? Don’t leave it too late, most people do! Read our article here: How long does it take to do a sewer connection?

Customer review

Our customer was equally complimentary, and a pleasure to work with, and was kind enough to give us a Google review at the end of the works: 

“Absolute pleasure working with John and his team. So considerate to the neighbours and polite. All works carried out on time and on budget. John was extremely thorough on explaining to me the process and works on site during the course. I will be using their services on future developments. Would strongly recommend them.”