Screw piles

Screw Pile Foundations Have Been Used for the First Time in the Uk to Support signage on the country's motorway network.

Main contractor Nuttall installed foundations for the cantilevered motorway signs (MS3 - Message Sign 3, the largest signs used on the UK's motorway system) at junction 12 of the M11 motorway using steel screw piles designed and supplied by Screwfast.

Of interest to the UK's Highway Agency was the ease with which the piles can be removed for maintenance purposes. When the foundations are no longer needed, they can simply be unscrewed. The trial paves the way for wider use of screw foundations for highly loaded structures on the road network, said Screwfast chairman Peter Dunn. Nuttall installed the piles in just 10 hours over four days. Conventional driven piles with a capping beam typically take 10 days to install.