
Over the past decade, BS Steels has been almost continuously involved in projects on and around the M25.
- In July 2012, BS Steels was Main Steel Sub-Contractor on highly time-critical and high profile repairs on the M4 Boston Manor A very complex piece of engineering was completed in a demanding timescale, with the M4 intended to serve as a key artery for London Olympic traffic.
- Throughout 2014, BS Steels worked on preparations for the introduction of free-flow tolls at the Dartford Crossing. Partnering with Osborne, BS Steels was involved with the unloading and installation of gantries, and sign support assemblies, to approaches to both the QEII bridge and the tunnel. Earlier, BS Steels had designed and manufactured eight test gantries, allowing trialling in preparation for reconfiguring the roads and traffic management systems.
- In 2015, we carried out urgent repairs to steel plates between bridge spans at the Dartford Crossing. A series of 16mm thick plates, each weighing over 1 tonne, required replacement. Using data from electronic scans, the plates were milled to match as exactly as possible the unique profile and undulations of the existing structure. Within 5 days the plates had been replaced on the bridge.
- In 2015, BS Steels replicated a 9-metre section of motorway viaduct, enabling practice strengthening works ahead of repairs to the M25 Gade Valley Viaduct. This was transferred to below the viaduct, and trials carried out in as true-to-life conditions as possible. These trials, carried out by a BS Steels-supplied team, established the most suitable treatments for repairs to welds, the safest and most efficient ways of installing doubler plates, and the optimal bolt tightening sequence. They also sought to establish optimal conditions for factors such as noise levels, communications, safe access and working procedures and emergency service access.
- In 2015, BS Steels worked with Connect Plus and partners to replace expansion joints near junction 20 of the M25. This involvedremoving existing road surfacing and installing road plates, refurbishment of ramp plates off site at our works, installing temporary ramp plates to allow replacement of existing support structure over expansion joint, and cutting out existing supporting structure; followed by removal and replacement of expansion joint, and reinstatement of road structure.
- On 23rd March 2016, at around 1am, cracks had been identified in the anti-clockwise carriageway, between junction 21a (M1) and junction 20 (Kings Langley). That section was closed immediately and a call put out by Highways England to BS Steels. By 4am, BS Steels had a team on site, assessing the cracks and the work needed. BS Steels was able to make immediate repairs, such that the carriageway was reopened by mid-afternoon, with a further closure the following night to complete repair.
- Since 2017, BS Steels has been strengthening the welds on the underside of the viaduct spans on the M25 Gade Valley Viaduct.