FP McCann’s box culverts have been installed to channel the water beneath Wixams, one of the UK’s latest and largest new towns.

Once complete, approximately 4500 new homes, together with schools, commercials and retail properties, will form the heart of this huge development.

Because of the significant vehicle loading on the access road during on-site construction, precast concrete culvert box sections were the only considered option to channel the water course beneath.

Contractor Smith Construction’s project engineers adopted a precast concrete box culvert design 65 metres long, 4.8 metres internal width and 2.7 metres internal height.

The 35 individual sections weighing around 22 tonnes each were manufactured at FP McCann’s Byley production facility in Cheshire and delivered to site to be installed using a specialist crane. Each unit has been bitumen coated externally for added waterproofing.

FP McCann’s Box Culverts Manager, Alex Kirkham commented, “The precast culvert sections for the Wixams infrastructure works are amongst the largest we have manufactured at Byley and demonstrate our ability to offer a design solution to fit the most exacting of briefs.”