A complex, large-scale access and Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) project near the River Tweed has been successfully completed, demonstrating the full strength of our trackway mats and drilling capabilities.
Delivered over a five-month programme in the Scottish Borders, the multistage project was carried out in partnership with OCU Utility Services Ltd on behalf of Scottish Power Renewables to support a windfarm connection cable installation.
The project began by transporting 1000T of stone to create an access road off of the public highway followed up by the installation of 380 (4m x 2m) Xtreme trackway mats, creating a robust temporary access route and working platforms capable of supporting heavy plant with minimal ground damage.
To facilitate safe site access across the river, a 72 tonne tank bridge was installed in collaboration with Beaver Bridges, enabling the safe movement of drilling equipment and materials into position.
During the second phase, our specialist drilling team completed six HDD installations beneath the river, installing ducting for the windfarm cable connection. Two all-terrain Ditchwitch drilling rigs, the AT30 and AT40, were mobilised to deliver the works, supported by a Dupagro mud reclaiming system to maximise efficiency and maintain environmental controls.
Careful project management ensured all drilling operations were completed ahead of the fish spawning season, protecting the surrounding ecosystem and minimising environmental impact.
Following successful completion of the drilling phase, the temporary bridge and trackway system were kept in place to allow the cabling contractor to complete the project before being fully demobilised, restoring the site to its natural condition.
Keith Elliot, Drilling Technical Manager, at Nicol of Skene praised the team and said; “This was a hugely successful project for Nicol of Skene. We were able to demonstrate the full capabilities of our trackway mats system, enabling a successful HDD operation from start to finish.
Our team efficiently constructed the access road to delivering two All Terrain rigs within a tight timeframe to support a valued customer, the project highlighted strong teamwork and coordination throughout, we can’t thank the team enough for their hard work on this project.
We’d also like to thank Beaver Bridges for stepping up to supply and install a bridge at short notice.
If you require Trackway mats for easy access or need to deploy under ground drilling works, reach out to our team to discuss future projects. Please contact us at enquiries@nicolofskene.com.