Requiring a survey of Shifnal town centre as part of an improvements package to pedestrianise part of the area, WSP approached Severn Partnership for assistance. For use within the design and construction phases of the project, the survey needed to locate and detect all subsurface features including utilities. The challenge was the area was within a high pedestrian and traffic flow zone, and the survey was required during the busiest time of the year over Christmas.

Challenges

• An extremely busy area with high volume of traffic and pedestrian footfall.
• Survey needed during the Christmas period, so traffic management was limited so as not to effect retail.
• The site needed a complete subsurface survey including detection of voids, 19th century basements and old culverts know to be somewhere under the road.

Project Overview

To ensure a complete data set and limit traffic management needed, multiple data capture methods were deployed. These were:
• GPR using an array system, speeding up data capture
• Utility tracing
• Manhole surveys
• CCTV

Deliverables

• Combined Topographic and Utility Survey Plan
• Topographic Survey Report
• Utility Survey Report
• Manhole Schedule

Benefits

The client benefited from being able to instruct just one company to complete and manage all aspects of the survey. This efficiency and procurement strategy improved and reduced:

Cost

Carbon

Casualties

Severn Partnership used a large combination of techniques including mobile mapping and advanced GPR systems to allow data collection without the need for traffic management or disruption to the public. The survey was done in 5 nights shifts which was significantly quicker than traditional methods or using multiple contractors.

Client Testimonial:

‘Thank you to the team at Severn Partnership who overcame very challenging circumstances to deliver a timely, comprehensive and very user friendly GPR survey for Shifnal town centre. The output was produced on time and within budget and has saved us many hours of frustrating tweaks and changes to our designs thanks to the extremely accurate data. The survey is now being used and providing confidence to a number of our teams to formulate their designs which, in turn, has successfully lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings for us and our clients. I look forward to using their services again’.

Paul Field-Williams IEng. FIHE, Associate, WSP