Road of Remembrance Badger Sett Filling in Embankment
Background
Landslip site
Kent County Council approached us with an urgent issue involving a landslip in Folkestone, Kent, near a highway embankment. The embankment had failed due to a combination of factors, including extensive badger setts that had destabilised the area. The landslip caused soil to cover the road below, leading to its closure.
Traditional methods for addressing badger setts, such as excavation, were unsuitable due to the steepness of the embankment and the challenging site access. The badgers had been safely relocated and certified as absent by ecologists, and the voids in the embankment needed to be filled urgently before the badger season resumed on 22nd November. This was a prerequisite for the stabilisation works to proceed.
The Solution
Our team utilised a geopolymer injection technique, a lightweight and environmentally inert material ideal for this scenario.
- Material Benefits:
- The geopolymer material offered several advantages:
- Lightweight but with adequate compressive strength to prevent collapse.
- Quick-setting properties, enabling subsequent works without delay.
- Easy to excavate or drill, accommodating future anchoring or stabilisation efforts.
-
Geobear team injecting via MEWP
Environmentally inert, ensuring no harm to the surrounding ecosystem.
- Process:
- Our self-contained vehicle arrived on-site early in the morning, equipped with injection units and the required materials.
- Technicians used a cherry picker (MEWP) to access the steep embankment.
- Injection tubes, up to six metres in length, were inserted into the badger setts, and the geopolymer material was injected. The material expanded to fill the voids completely, ensuring no gaps remained.
The works were initially planned over two shifts (Friday and Saturday). However, due to high winds forecast for Saturday, the team completed the entire project in an extended single shift on Friday. Starting at 6:00 a.m. and working late into the evening, the team successfully filled all six badger setts, avoiding potential weather-related delays.
