Concrete Maintenance Project, M53

Starting in early February, LMS Highways have been working on behalf of Balvac to deliver a Concrete Maintenance Project located on the M53.

Working between junction 11 – 12 on the M53 LMS Highway were instructed to remove old, damaged sections of concrete carriageway and prepare the subbase in preparation for the road to receive asphalt reinstatement. Along with this, partial depth concrete repairs and further life extension repairs such as thin bond and joint repairs were provided.

Starting in early February the team began prepping the site by marking the areas due to be repaired, joints were pre-sawn ahead of the breakout and many smaller repairs carried out to the joints. Often the forgotten part in any concrete carriageway maintenance regime is the joint sealing, keeping the water above the slabs and directing it to proper drainage is the number one priority to prevent undermining or softening of the subbase – otherwise cracked, dropped and/or rocking slabs can be the result. This is where carrying out a range of treatments from repair to replacement is necessary to extend the life of a concrete carriageway.

“I’m pleased to hear that we got the first 13 bays removed and reinstated as planned last night… and with an hour to spare. There was no luck involved in this. The coordination planning in the lead up, and the excellent communication (and safety controls) that I witnessed last night, were key to delivering these works successfully. This gives us real confidence that the programme for the next two weekends is achievable. Please pass on my thanks to your teams. Well done to all involved!”– Andrew Higson, Project Manager for Balvac

The project was completed over 13 shifts with full overnight road closures, which resulted in minimised disruption and fast delivery.

230 tonnes of concrete removed from site
Over 3,300 linear metres of Joint Sealing installed
Over 500 linear metres of thin bond repair

The LMS Team

With decades of experience, we pride ourselves on our quality of service and ability to meet our customers’ requirements, for more information on the services we provide please visit our Highway Repairs page or give us a call on 01626 331771.