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Tree Clearance on M5 J4A to J6

After existing tree contractors on site were about to run out of available night shifts and were looking like being unable to complete the tree clearance within the program time-frame, KHL were called in to clear the remaining woodland and heavy vegetation over 5ha of embankments, in multiple locations.

Scope

A program of just fifteen remaining night shifts, meant that unless the works were completed on time, other scheme operations would not be completed and the project would be in danger of penalty payments. Dense woodland, thick scrub, and steep slopes, all spread across multiple locations had to be cleared to ground level. Hazards included overhead and underground services, structures, live traffic, very poor weather conditions, high levels of contamination by foreign objects, and night works.

Challenges / Notes / Innovations

Deploying two forestry excavators with flails and a crew of saw operators, with a mobile chipper, KHL cleared over 5ha of vegetation in just nine night shifts.

A complete lack of plant refuges was overcome by lifting all machinery on and off-site, using low-loaders.

KHL specialist forestry flails, equipped with hammers that retract when in contact with foreign objects (truck wheel rims, for example), meant that almost no downtime was suffered.

From the initial site visit to full deployment was under a week and only the experience, skills, and equipment of KHL were able to deliver another success for the client and saved large penalty payments, as well as bringing the program back on track, where others had failed.