road plate hire

A goods vehicle struck the masonry wall on the westbound lane of a bridge in Midhurst, causing a major issue on the important A272 road link.

Highways contractors did a very temporary mitigation, but a semi-permanent solution was required pronto.

As is often the way, simply locating the equipment – in this case six temporary vehicle control barriers (TVCBs) – is one thing; having a logistics team that can pull together the correct transport, cranes and trained operatives to mount a same-day mission for a 21:00 hrs roadside install is quite another.

But just like contractors up and down the country, our customer knew that the Road Plate Hire team were always going to be the ones to come up with the goods!

Photos care of Scott Tait.

After the prolonged wet weather followed by a cold snap this winter, we’ve had a spate of folks in trouble because of  collapsed manholes to contend with.

Not the most glorious of missions but, nevertheless, to do a ‘proper job’ you need the right kit.

A couple of bevelled-edged 3m x 1.5m Anti-Skid Road Plates will resolve just about any drama, even in the highway and with HGVs in the mix. 

Photos care of Scott Tait.

A regional water company has to complete a major refurb of a waste water treatment works.

As is often the way, this site is both remote and surrounded by prime agricultural land, but there is no room on site to bring in and hold the men and equipment required to enable the extensive works.

Negotiations with neighbours ultimately secured an approximately half-acre strip adjacent to the job site, but the conditions of the temporary easement precluded either the scraping of topsoil or the importation of the sort of stone and hardstand normally required for such a substantial laydown area for plant, HGVs and accommodation units.

So the client proposed a scheme involving the installation of a geotextile membrane and 400 pieces of BOGMATS.

We duly despatched a team to rural Worcestershire who successfully completed the installation in three days.

Our service division – being the multiskilled and resourceful sorts of chaps they are – are never shy of saying yes to a challenge.

So we’re never short of weird, wonderful, old and new bits of kit in the yards and workshops for a bit of love and attention.

I was a bit surprised, though, to find a vintage grey Fergie tractor here the other day.

Apparently the owner had attempted to replace an exhaust but fell foul of some very rusty studs that broke off in the manifold.

A session with ‘Dr Cliff’ and his fire spanner sorted that out.

There is a Latin expression “Aut viam inveniam aut faciam” which means “I shall either find a way, or make one.”

A national-scale civil engineering company had a drain to put in a road that was the only way in and out of a large housing development in Kent.

Due to existing gas and water mains, the only feasible route was right down the centre line of the road, meaning that the route would be entirely unpassable during the month or so that the works were taking place.

After a site visit by one of our experts, a scheme was designed for a temporary works solution that enabled the adjacent footway to become traffic-bearing, leaving the workmen free to occupy the area required.

The core of the scheme were four of our outsized 6 x 3 x 25mm anti-skid road plates, along with some shock-absorber HD rubber matting and some piers formed by stacking multiple ground mats. 

Erected on site by one of our crack install teams using some custom-made jointing plates, the client dealt with the transitions with the simple application of a few tonnes of tarmac, restoring a decent thoroughfare for all grades of traffic for the duration of the project.

Photos care of Ryan Russell and client.

Even at the height of festival season we were able to install this scheme for a temporary car park in the north of England.

This enabled the client to boost their warehousing and logistics workforce, by 200 allowing them to deal with a seasonal uptick in demand.

Photos care of Carl Somner.

It was an early rise to get these 4×2 mega plates installed in the super-busy access for Guy’s Hospital in London.

They are the perfect temporary-works solution to keep this vital artery open, whilst engineers figure out what to do with the subterranean tank covers that are showing signs of sagging.

Super quick, super safe, super Southdown. 

Photos care of Josh Bowtle.

Swift forking on of two loads out of the yard today for 20-tonne batches of Temporary Structure Ballast Plates bound for some pavilion foundations at the Paris Olympics.

The ever popular SALLY lifter not only makes the lifting and installation easy, but gives the engineers a perfect anchorage for their structural connections.

Photos care of Sam Tuffee.

One of the joys of having a great transport team and a varied fleet is being able to offer solutions to problems well outside what would be expected by most hire companies.

So as an alternative to a VERY expensive crane hire, we were able to lay an 80m x 3m runway of solid steel plates to enable the passing of 32t HIABS over a cycle path at Angmering at a cost-effective rate.

50 tonnes in and 50 tonnes out at a day each way… easy squeezy.

Photos care of Team Southdown.

Limited offer on FREE STUFF!

A gift from us to you to help keep the mud out of your face whilst you have a cup of tea and a sarnie.

Six of our walkover mats free with every welfare unit.

Offer runs until the end of April 2024.

Simply mention ’walkovers’ when you enquire.

Pictures courtesy of Southdown.