Context

Managing surface water run-off on highways and local roads is a key consideration for highways agencies and local authorities alike, protecting road users from flash flooding that increasingly strikes our road network. Attenuation and infiltration solutions are a proven way of reducing the effects of these disruptive weather issues. 

When Telford and Wrekin Council needed a safe, sustainable and maintainable infiltration solution for a key section of the A442, they specified ACO’s StormBrixx system with its high storage capacity and flexible crate design.

Product used

73m3 of StormBrixx HD (Heavy Duty) were installed along the verge of the A442 to minimise surface water disruptions to the road.

“ACO’s modular crate system allowed us to fit a new highway soakaway into a long and narrow space while maximising the attenuation provided,” commented Lucinda Lycett, Engineering Assistant at Telford and Wrekin Council, who helped specify the solution.

A new gulley was also built into the verge, installed at a lower level than the road surface, which then connected to the StormBrixx soakaway tank via a series of pipework underneath the road surface.

Additionally, the accessibility and stacking ability of the ACO StormBrixx system benefited both the Local Council and Contractors respectively.

The unique pillar configuration of the ACO StormBrixx HD system offers a high porosity of 95%, which not only limited the amount of excavation required to achieve the specified storage capacity, but reduced the aggregate needed for backfilling and improved the flow characteristics of run-off through the installed tank.

The StormBrixx system was lined with ACOtex, a non-woven polypropylene geotextile with excellent filtration and drainage properties. This would ensure any stormwater collected in the soakaway tank could infiltrate back into the surrounding soil at a natural rate, without surcharging the surrounding area.