BAM Nuttall Transpennine Route Upgrade Project

Summary

In a strategic initiative to enhance rail services across the Pennines, the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) aims to provide faster, greener journeys between Manchester and York. BAM Nuttall engaged Equans to deliver environmental consultancy and monitoring services for key construction sites, including the A62 overbridge near Huddersfield and Deighton station. 

With construction taking place near residential areas and including night-time operations, Equans’ advice and solutions play a key role in enabling BAM Nuttall to effectively manage the environmental impact of their construction activities on local communities and demonstrate the use of best practicable means (BPM).

BAM Nuttall x Equans

For major construction projects such as the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), the adverse impacts of noise and vibration should be avoided or minimised through consideration of the form and methods of construction, programming of works, mitigation of noise and vibration, monitoring, and communications.

Through close collaboration with BAM Nuttall at different project stages, Equans has positioned itself as a trusted partner, ready to address the technical challenges associated with noise, vibration, and air quality. 

Our partnership demonstrates a shared commitment to managing environmental impacts while ensuring the successful delivery of critical infrastructure projects.

The Challenge

The Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) is a major project running through residential areas across the Pennines, including at the A62 overbridge and Deighton station. When construction takes place close to sensitive residential areas and the nature of the work warrants it, noise and vibration must be assessed and monitored both before and during the works.

Assessing the likely impact of construction activities and monitoring their effects are critical steps in ensuring compliance with TRU and local authority requirements, as well as building positive relationships with the community.

Technical consultancy

Noise and Vibration Assessments

To address potential noise and vibration impacts, Equans undertook comprehensive assessments, establishing predictive models to analyse and represent levels affecting nearby residential receptors. The models allowed for precise assessment of disturbance risks and informed recommendations for mitigation to demonstrate the best practicable means (BPM) and ensure compliance with the relevant standards.

Key aspects of the assessments included:

• Prediction of noise and vibration levels at sensitive residential locations for various construction phases;
• Establishment of baselines to quantify the impact of construction noise and vibration relative to pre-existing conditions;
• Evaluation of noise against BS5228-1:2009 +A1:2014 and vibration against BS5228-2:2009 +A1:2014 and BS6472-1:2008 standards to ensure compliance;

Noise, Vibration and Air Quality Monitoring

Equans implemented long-term noise, vibration, and air quality monitors to provide continuous data and insight throughout the project, ensuring that the right parameters are being monitored, that sensors are located properly, and that equipment is in good working order and calibrated when necessary.

• Noise Monitoring: Noise levels were rigorously assessed against BS5228-1:2009 +A1:2014 to ensure that construction activities aligned with regulatory noise thresholds.
• Vibration Monitoring: Vibration levels were rigorously assessed against BS5228-2:2009 +A1:2014 and BS6472-1:2008 to ensure that construction activities aligned with regulatory vibration thresholds.
• Air Quality Monitoring: Air quality monitoring was conducted in line with IAQM and University College London guidelines, ensuring that pollutant levels remained within safe limits for the community.

The Equans Solution

Technical consultancy

Equans consultancy services address the technical challenges associated with identifying project risks, meeting project obligations, designing compliant solutions, or mitigating project impacts and include:

• Modelling and assessments
• Design reviews
• Planning discharge and Development Consent Orders
• Monitoring Plans
• Validation/verification of third-party plans or designs

Monitoring

Equans monitoring solutions deliver remote monitoring of noise, vibration, and air quality, providing BAM Nuttall with access to an online portal to visualise and download data, allowing them to set trigger levels for alerts if any thresholds were exceeded. This monitoring system provided clarity and equipped BAM Nuttall with the tools to reduce project disruptions.