Wadhurst Cutting (City End)

Massnahme

Due to the size and complexity of the project, with

• heights of the cutting ranged from 8 - 18 meters
• approximately 300 meters in length
• a tunnel portal at the southern extent of the site
  

a range of geotechnical solutions was installed. Given the proximity to the track, part of the works was completed in a seven-day blockade of the line in October 2021.

Extensive soil nailing was undertaken around the tunnel portal, where nails between 10 - 12 meters in length were installed. Prior to soil nailing, TECCO G65/3 mesh was laid as a temporary protection measure to prevent any loose material from falling onto the track during drilling; the mesh was then drilled through as nails were installed. 

On both the cutting's up and down lines, approximately the upper 6 - 8 meters of the faces were remediated using an active soil nailing (28 mm diameter) and meshing (TECCO G65/3). Due to the contouring of the existing slope creating a slight overhang, below this section, down to track level was remediated with a passive drape system (TECCO G65/3) with regular nailing along the base of the slope along with some intermittent profiling nails.

The result was across the entire cutting (city end), over 16,000 square meters of TECCO G65/3 was installed, and over 14,000 meters of soil nails and rock bolts were drilled (across approximately 3000 locations). Going forward, the remediation will ensure fewer disruptions to rail users while also increasing staff and public safety on the railway for its 60-year design life.