Project Description
After successfully finishing the three key highways in Poland, A1, A2 and A4, the Polish Transport Agency drew up an ambitious construction plan to deliver an expressway network that will connect these highways, further improving the infrastructure of Poland. Expressway S5 is a crucial part of this network, going through three Voivodeships (provinces), connecting five major cities: Wroclaw, Poznan, Gniezno, Bydgoszcz and Grudziadz, and making the connection between the A4 and A1 highways. The project was delivered on time.
The Challenge
The S5 expressway is recognised as one of the Polish Government’s priorities in the programme period 2014 to 2020. To gain maximum benefit, a tight programme was ordered. Methods allowing rapid construction with reliable quality assurance were recognised at early design stage. A major feature of every highway is efficient and adequate drainage. The typical Trans European Highway standard calls for “French Drains” consisting of an 800mm deep by 500mm wide trench, lined with geotextile and filled with imported graded gravel. This is a costly, time consuming installation, which carried the risk of delaying the construction.
The Solution
The designer specified a prefabricated geosynthetic solution, which consists of a geocomposite with a geotextile sock, allowing a flexible pipe to be quickly threaded through on site. The whole “fin drain” is then dropped into a narrow trench and backfilled.
ABG Fildrain was used with an integral draw string to help pull the pipe through the sock. A thin trench was excavated, and Fildrain was simply rolled out along the road. Once the pipe was fitted, Fildrain was dropped into the trench and backfilled with the excavated material. Using Fildrain allowed for 50% savings on material and labour costs, with 75% savings on installation time. One standard Euroliner of Fildrain is equivalent to 260 loads of drainage stone.
The ABG Service
In close cooperation with Geotica, ABG provided a technical solution and the requested data to achieve approval for the product. Fildrain was manufactured at a bespoke width and pipe sock diameter and delivered to site for easy and cost-effective installation.
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