We returned to Kings Barton in Winchester for the second phase of works, having previously carried out the first in 2017. This phase having 1,361 bearing piles with a total of 14,685 linear metres of 300mm diameter to be installed in 2 visits.
We unloaded our Soilmec SF50 using the radio controlled tracking feature, meaning no access was required on the bed of the lorry.
The predominantly chalk terrain has given the site an unusual ‘other worldly’ feel to it – especially when the site was enveloped in a blanket of dense fog!
The vast site has been prepared by re-modelling the chalk to create the landscape with approximately 7000m³ of chalk being moved per day for several weeks and re-compacted in layers. Due to the compaction of the chalk, and subsequent bearing pressure testing only a minimum running coarse of crush concrete was required as a piling platform.