Feature Article
Environmental Responsibility
Wheel washing before exiting onto the Haul Road
© BAM Nuttall
On-site wheel washing facility
© BAM Nuttall
Keeping the roads clear of mud and dust is one of the environmental responsibilities that the King’s Cross Central contractors take very seriously.
In the winter a construction site as large as King’s Cross can become quite muddy in places. The contractors need to prevent mud being taken onto the highway and use several measures to reduce this risk.
Firstly, they minimize the muddy areas within the construction site and retain as many of the existing roads as possible. This reduces the amount of mud collected on the wheels as well as allowing much of it to be dispersed on the hard surface of the internal haul roads. At King’s Cross Central there is a drive-through wheel-wash located on the haul road which removes the majority of the mud on the wheels. The haul road is regularly cleaned by a road sweeper.
On reaching the site exit, vehicles have all their wheels jet washed by a high pressure water spray and only once this has been done is the vehicle allowed onto the site access road. Any remaining mud comes off on the access road which is cleaned regularly by a second road sweeper. The vehicles can then move onto the highway with minimal risk of spreading mud.
