New ironwork system targets waste and whole-life value in road projects

A new ironwork system is being promoted as a way to reduce material use and waste in road and infrastructure projects, putting another small part of highway construction under the sustainability spotlight.

Manhole covers and road ironwork are easy to ignore until something goes wrong.

But the components sitting between utility infrastructure and the carriageway are increasingly being considered as part of the wider push to reduce waste and improve whole-life value in road and street works.

A new system, known as SHIMPAC®, is being promoted for infrastructure projects, with sustainability, waste reduction and whole-life value among the claims made about its use.

In brief:

• A new ironwork system is being promoted for infrastructure projects.
• The system is marketed around sustainability, waste reduction and whole-life value.
• The product forms part of a wider focus on the environmental performance of infrastructure work.

Why ironwork is part of the sustainable roads conversation

Ironwork may be a small part of a highway scheme, but its position in the carriageway makes it an important interface between the road surface and the infrastructure below.

Access covers and frames have to sit within the surrounding carriageway, while the road itself is exposed to repeated traffic loading and changes in temperature and weather. Getting that interface right is therefore an important part of delivering a finished road or street works project.

The new system is being presented as one approach to that part of the installation process. Its promotion focuses on reducing material use and waste while considering the longer-term value of the installation.

That fits into a wider change in the way sustainability is being discussed across highways. The focus is no longer limited to large-scale decisions such as pavement materials, construction plant and recycling. Smaller components and installation methods are increasingly being considered as part of the overall environmental impact of a project.

Whole-life value is relevant because the initial installation cost is only one part of an infrastructure asset’s cost. Maintenance, replacement and the disruption associated with returning to a site can all contribute to the wider impact of highway work.

For councils, contractors and utilities, avoiding unnecessary repeat work can therefore have practical benefits as well as financial ones. Every additional intervention can require labour, materials, plant and traffic management, although the extent of any potential saving will depend on the individual product, installation and site conditions.

That distinction is important with products marketed around sustainability. The environmental claims attached to a particular system need to be considered alongside the evidence supporting them and the conditions in which the product is being used.

The system is being promoted specifically around this sustainability argument. The wider question for the highways sector is whether products of this kind can demonstrate measurable benefits when they are used across real projects rather than simply looking attractive on paper.

That is a familiar challenge as infrastructure clients increasingly consider carbon and resource use alongside traditional measures such as cost, programme and performance.

The same issue applies across the wider road network. A small component may not attract much attention individually, but procurement decisions are made repeatedly across large maintenance and construction programmes. Small changes can therefore become more significant when adopted at scale.

We have looked at the wider pressures facing highway authorities in Torbay, where traffic management changes followed long delays around roadworks. The circumstances are very different, but both illustrate the wider reality of highway delivery: seemingly small decisions can have consequences beyond the individual piece of infrastructure being worked on.

For drivers, an ironwork system is unlikely to be noticeable when it is doing its job properly. The interest for the sector is elsewhere, in whether products used beneath and around the carriageway can contribute to less waste, more efficient construction and better whole-life performance.

The system is currently being promoted on those grounds. Whether those claims translate into measurable benefits across highway projects will ultimately depend on its performance in real-world use.