The fast solution to road subsidence
Geobear operates in the highways sector as a sub-contractor to Tier 1 and Tier 2’s or directly for local government. We provide a very fast solution to re-mediate the ground beneath flexible road surfaces and rigid slabs that are subject to subsidence. Importantly, we reduce disruption to road users through the speed and mobility of our ground injection solutions. This means we can deliver road improvement schemes overnight and enable a road to be fully open during the daytime.
Our pioneering solutions have been developed by our R&D team for over 30 years. Our geopolymer injection method compacts the soil beneath roads to make the subsurface stable, without any need for excavation works. It is a quick and efficient solution to any issue with unstable subsoil or voiding that causes sinking slabs or fracturing and major potholing. Read our latest technical paper.
We have worked on many of the major UK motorways and across the UK and Ireland’s road networks.
Road stabilisation without the need for excavation
The key advantage of Geobear’s process is the fact that it causes so little disruption. The process sees the drilling of small holes through the surface to a predetermined depth, through which expanding geopolymer material is injected. This means there is no need to excavate the site and cause further unnecessary disruption to the road.
Degradation of a road surface is usually the result of the concrete base moving. Geobear prevents this movement by stabilising the ground underneath, allowing the road to be used safely again.
Where a bridge abutment or slip road is failing due to large voids in the ground (either by burrowing animals or washout), we can deploy a fast curing highly expansive material that will fill and also improve the strength of the sub-surface. This mitigates against any need for excavation reducing programme times to weeks as opposed to months.
Video: Geobear completes urgent works on the M11
Advantages of Geobear’s geopolymer injection method
- Fast project delivery – Instead of breaking up road slabs and replacing them, we use our pioneering geopolymer technology that means work can be finished in a matter of hours. This means that motorway, dual carriageways, suburban roads and more can all be corrected at lightning speed compared with the few months traditional repair methods can take.
- Non-disruptive – To ensure that there is minimal disruption, our engineers carry out work one lane at a time to keep traffic flowing. We can also work during unsociable hours to ensure minimal delays. Because the process is so fast, Geobear can carry out work during quieter periods of the day, allowing for full use of the road in the morning and evening rush hours.
- An immediate solution – The road is usable again within 30 minutes, our material cures to 95% strength within 15 minutes.
- Rigid and flexible surface stabilisation – Flexible road surfaces can be stabilised with hardly any disruption. Geobear’s innovative injection process gives greater strength to the sub-base and increases the bearing capacity of the road, lifting the flexible surface back up to its original height. And all this is done without the need for excavations or replacing any of the road materials.
- Cost effective – By using the fast Geobear method, which requires no excavation overall programme costs can be reduced by up to 50%. On a macro scale, because our work causes minimal disruption, there is also significant reductions to the delays of road users – an independent study has indicated that with Geobear method, EU taxpayers could save over 100 billion euros.
- Accurate – Our work is monitored by lasers. It creates a firm base which extends the life of cracked slabs. In 35 years, our materials have not failed.
- Environmentally friendly – Compared with other methods, our carbon footprint is very low. Materials do not affect groundwater.
You can read more about the method and its advantages here.
In nearly 40 years, Geobear has completed over 200,000 projects in 50 countries, proving the benefits of our re-levelling and stabilising solutions.
Geobear is committed to a policy of Zero Harm for our employees, the public and the environment.
