Muthill Cycle Path Ground Investigation
In order to facilitate design of a cycle path between Muthill and Crieff, Muthill Village Trust engaged Soil Engineering to undertake a ground investigation along the banks of the River Earn. Data was supplied in fully digital format for Fairhurst to undertake detailed design of the path and a new bridge spanning the river.
Accessing the northern area of the site to complete the ground investigation, amongst mature trees and steep slopes, proved challenging but possible, with care and planning. The presence of Japanese Knotweed governed the availability of some access routes, requiring close supervision from an Ecologist throughout plant movements and the establishment of workforce access routes. The Ecologist also undertook nesting bird surveys prior to access and small portions of essential devegetation to ensure the ecological impact of the works was minimised and our activities remained legally compliant.
Key works included the completion of 7no. cable percussive boreholes, of which 4no. were extended by rotary coring, with standpipes installed across the site to facilitate gas and groundwater monitoring. Boreholes were completed in a variety of strata, including an historic landfill. This required the use of increased PPE and decontamination facilities, with this area of the site warranting a BDA “Red” classification. Both CPT and DCP testing further augmented the field dataset.
Commencing during fieldwork, a comprehensive range of geotechnical and geoenvironmental testing was undertaken, with results provided digitally in both AGS4 and PDF formats for rapid and accessible inclusion in the overall site model. A project report was provided on completion of testing, with installation monitoring ongoing and reported digitally.
Managing the complex ecological and environmental constraints of the site, whilst maintaining public access to appropriate areas and ensuring the collection of all necessary data drew heavily upon the extensive experience of our field team. Led by an experienced Engineer and Project Manager, and with BDA Audited Drillers, our team were able to deliver an effective project within a highly constrained environment.
If you want to lean more about other schemes we’ve completed, head to our Projects section where you can find further case studies for Ground Investigation and Grouting.
