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Mark Pritchard
Civil Engineer
The design and construction
Hochtief (UK)
Construction Swindon,
of Cliffsend Underpass
England
Abstract
This paper presents the building challenges and final design of the
Cliffsend Underpass being built under the railway near Ramsgate in
south east England. Network Rail are particularly sensitive about this line
Tomasz Kucki as it carries the new Javelin trains which service the high speed link to St
Senior Engineer Pancras International. The challenge was therefore not only to devise a
scheme which met the Client, Kent County Council’s requirements, but
Atkins
also to develop a technique which minimises ground settlement.
The underpass is part of the new East Kent Access Road. It is 23m wide
and is 125m long. For a structure of this magnitude and subject to the
rail constraints highlighted above, a special box jacking concept has
been developed. The jacking proposal belongs to a group of concepts
based on jacking and skidding. IABSE Working Group 6 on bridge deck
Jan de Boer installation is studying the safe use and benefits of these techniques.
Civil Engineer
DeBoerDC /
Mammoet UK

Introduction
Cliffsend Underpass see Figure 1, is the
major design and build element of the East
Kent Access Phase 2 contract, promoted
and funded by Kent County Council
(KCC) and, in part, by the Department of
Transport. The contract was awarded to
the VolkerFitzpatrick HOCHTIEF JV in the
summer of 2009. The structure provides
a route for the new dual carriageway,
which sits in a 15m deep cutting either
side of the railway. The proximity of local
properties on both sides of the railway
meant that an over-bridge solution is not
viable. The overall geometry and physical
location of the new structure is further
constrained by significant existing statutory
undertaker apparatus, under a minor road
and level crossing above.
The resulting structure presented for
design and build development comprised
a 126m long, 23m wide and 7m high
twin-cell structure. The deep approach
cuttings would be formed of large
diameter contiguous piled approach walls
up to 15m deep, on either side. The upper
deck level was dictated by the location of a
large diameter sewer pipe above resulting
in a 6m overburden from the top of the
box deck up to the railway above.
of the structure whilst having no impact
on the operation of the railway above.
The new road layout and high skew of the
railway makes this underpass one of the
longest box jacked structures in the world.
Preliminary designs considered a
conventional approach, utilising a pair of
large box sections jacked into position. The
major challenge of this proposal was the
length and, ultimately, the required jacking
capacity and control during installation.
In addition, the extent of open face that
would have resulted from these large box
sections gave cause for concern amongst
the geotechnical consultants, due to the
likely extent of ground and associated
railway track settlement that would
have resulted.
It became apparent that the scale of the
whole structure required that a different
approach is considered.
Site investigation showed the main
geological strata to be a lightly weathered
chalk with few flints or boulders, overlain
with up to 6m of (mainly) Thanet Sand
strata. On this basis it was anticipated
that the majority of excavation would
be within the chalk, with Thanet Sand
Structures

encountered over a short central length of

Design the underpass in the top 1m of the face.
Analysis suggested that the excavation
The challenge slope at the shield face would be stable,
The challenge for the designers was to without the need for ground treatment.

Figure 1. Cliffsend Underpass under develop a structural solution which would

construction allow the jacking of manageable sections

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 Figure 2.  Cross-section of the Tender and post Tender solution
The technical solution
The Tender scheme, developed in
conjunction with specialist box jacking
consultants (JSG SA, from Geneva)
utilised multiple jacked boxes to
form abutments, see Figure 2. These
abutments incorporated a slide path
along which the main deck sections
would be jacked into position.
After contract award, a series of design
review meetings were held between
designers, contractors and specialist
jacking consultants, to further improve on
this concept.
The final solution, see Figure 2 –
presented to and accepted by the Client
– involves the construction of a pair
of 3.05m internal diameter temporary
tunnels, bored 8.50m below the railway
along the lines of the underpass side
walls. From within these two tunnels,
mini piling rigs are used to construct rows
of closely spaced reinforced concrete piles
taken through the base of the tunnel
and founded in the underlying chalk
strata. These piles are ultimately exposed
and faced to form the lower sections of
side walls.
Construction sequence
Pilot tunnels and retaining walls
An earth pressure balance tunnel boring
machine was employed to drive two
126m long temporary tunnels, see Figure
3. Track movement was continuously
monitored by a set of robotic total
stations detecting a total vertical
settlement of less than 3mm. The tunnels
were completed, within an 8 week
programme, in December 2010 without
any disruption to train operations or
the need to apply any Temporary Speed
Restriction (TSR).
From within the tunnels 530 No, 450mm
diameter, bored cast in situ piles have
been constructed. The piles are 14m
long and reinforced for the top 8m. They
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Figure 3.  Western headwall with entrance of Figure 4.  Casting facilities deck units
the pilot tunnels
were constructed using Klemm KR 702 loads applied from 6m of overburden.
limited height rigs. At peak productivity 4 80% (by weight) of the reinforcement
No. piles were installed per rig per shift. has been designed to allow prefabrication
Piling was completed in April 2011. Then ‘as beams’ which are lifted into place by
the reinforced concrete pile caps were the 20 tonnes twin hook gantry crane
constructed within the tunnels, following which services the casting yard, see
which a low-friction slide track was set Figure 4.
onto the pile cap, installed to very high
geometrical tolerances.
Box jacking
Deck units
Tunnelling shield
The underpass roof, or deck, sections
comprise 6 abutting units, each 23m The front, or lead, deck unit incorporates
a mining shield and cutting edge
wide, 22m long (max) and 1.80m deep
heavily reinforced concrete slabs with end designed to provide intimate support and
protection at the excavation face. The
down stand sections. These are being cast
on site 150m west of their final location, shield, see Figure 5 is divided into 8 cells,
see Figure 4. Each section of deck will each of which will contain excavation
be jacked up to the underpass portal plant and miners. The shield is added to
and engaged at the front end onto the the front unit once it had been jacked
slide tracks extended from within the into the storage area. The sheets of the
tunnels (as described previously). The anti-drag system are dispensed through
deck sections are being constructed using slots in the front of the mining shield.
a single reusable shutter. RMD formwork
is being used to support the deck sections
during concreting. The internal shutters
to the legs are hinged for striking while
the outside shutters are removable to
allow fixing of reinforcement.
Each deck unit contains 1040m3
of concrete and 240 tonnes of
reinforcement. The majority of the Figure 5.  Impression of the Tunnelling Shield
reinforcement is in a double layer
of 50mm diameter high yield bars
in the bottom of the slab. The high
reinforcement density is a result of the
111 The design and construction of Cliffsend Underpass

Figure 6.  Long section with jacking stations 5 x 7,000t

Jacking arrangements
The deck units will be jacked under the
railway using a total jacking force of 35,000t
divided over 5 jacking stations, each with a
capacity of 7,000t, see Figure 6.
The most important is the Rear Jacking
Station (RJS), which consists of two
groups of six 600t cylinders with a stroke
of 2.20m, see Figure 7. Together with
packers the RJS has an overall stroke
of 22m, which reflects the maximum
length of a single deck section. The RJS is
first used to bring the lead unit into the
embankment. It is then retracted to create
space for the installation of the next deck
section. This operation is repeated five
times. Intermediate Jacking Stations (IJS)
are located in the joints between the deck Figure 7.  Rear jacking station with 12 cylinders 600t
sections. Each IJS has a capacity of 7,000t
and a stroke of 100mm. The front IJS has a the slide path in the jacking pit area and
stroke of 300mm. also by mobilisation of the tunnel / ground
Forward progression follows a caterpillar interface friction. The ground anchoring
movement principle. The lead unit moves comprises 28 25m long multi strand
forward first, is followed by the next systems, installed at 30º to the vertical
sections; the last section is moved forward and pre-stressed to a working load of
by the RJS. 1220kN, see Figure 8.

All jacking stations are powered by
a central PPU with a flow of 72litre /
minute at 450 bar. The measurement is
made using digital stroke sensors. The
theoretical forward movement speed
varies between 370mm / hour and
140mm / hour, dependent on the number
of operative IJSs.
The jacking pit
The RJS is installed in a jacking pit
Slide tracks and bearing systems
Mammoet are providing two separate
sliding systems. Figure 8.  Thrust block with ground anchors
The first one is used for the transport of
the six 2,500t heavy deck sections from
the casting to the jacking pit area, see
Figure 9.
This system consists of hydraulically
interconnected short stroke vertical
jacks supported on PTFE pads running
Structures

that acts as an abutment for the RJS.
In the jacking pit, each deck section
is transferred from the sliding system
used in and out of the prefabrication
yard onto the main sliding track system
which is taken through the pilot tunnels.
Resistance to the rear jacking loads is
provided partly by ground anchoring of
on a stainless steel slide track. The track
has been laid to a tolerance of ± 2mm.
Variation of load in the PTFE pads, as a
consequence of varying track levels, is
accommodated in the hydraulics which
ensure that load in each jack remains
constant at all times.
Figure 9.  3.200t sliding system on prefab yard

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 The second system operates from the
jacking pit through the temporary tunnels.
Here the loads are much higher as a
consequence of the 6m of overburden.
The total vertical load applied to this
main sliding system is more than 50,000t.
The system here consists of 41mm thick
elastomeric bearings fixed to the underside
of the deck legs. A layer of PTFE is bonded
to the bottom face of the bearing. This
slides on a stainless steel track on the
tunnel pile caps. The only flexibility in the
system is in the bearing and this is limited
to approximately 2mm within the working
load range of the bearing. To ensure that
loads remain within design tolerance the
bearing face and slide track are to be set
to a tolerance of ± 0.5mm.
The first system is 175m long, and the
second one is 155m, with an overlapping
Figure 10.  Anti-drag system with anchored steel sheets
section of 25m in the jacking pit.
Anti-drag system
To prevent migration of overburden
material in the direction of deck
movement and to reduce the friction
between the deck unit and the overlying
ground during jacking, there is an
arrangement of continuous steel sheets
that lie on the top of the deck units and
are anchored to the west headwall, see
Figure 10. The sheets will be dispensed
through slots in the front of the mining
shield from rolls suspended on the soffit
of the front deck unit. Because the sheets
are anchored to the west headwall, they
will remain stationary relative to the
overburden as the deck moves forward. Figure 11.  Rear jacking station during Figure 12.  Inside the underpass during
This will reduce the risk of horizontal installation of the first deck unit operations the jacking operation
movement of the rail embankment and
• Anti-drag devices and lubrication
ensure that most of the frictional forces
of the sliding contact surfaces: Conclusions
are generated at the interface of the top
of the deck units and the anti-drag sheets. this not only reduces friction Box jacking is a well tested technique for
This interface will be lubricated by the but also guarantees stability of building tunnels and underpasses with
injection of bentonite or high viscosity gels the embankment. minimal disruption to existing road and
through grouting manifolds cast into each • Surveying and monitoring: box rail infrastructure.
of the deck units. jacking requires an attentive reaction At Cliffsend we have devised a scheme
to the slightest signal of a possible
Operations to cater for a project of great magnitude.
misalignment or deformation of Because of the length of the underpass
The process of jacking (see Figures 11 the overgoing road. Failure to treat
and 12) through the embankment can (126m) and the capacity of the applied
immediately will result in the process pushing equipment (35,000t) this is
be divided into several activities taking going out of control.
place simultaneously: believed to be the most impressive example
At Cliffsend the jacking process is of jacking within the last ten years.
• Mining and excavation at the shield: programmed as a 24 hours a day, 7 days
the success of the whole project By designing a structure of these
a week operation. After one deck section dimensions with only a roof structure and
depends largely on the accuracy of of 22m has been installed the RJS has
the mining taking place. The mining slide tracks in bored pilot tunnels, we have
to be temporarily removed in order to responded to the challenge to build Taller,
determines the speed of progress, position a new deck section in the jacking
settlement of the road / railway above Longer, Lighter structures as set by th
pit. This operation will take 2½ days. IABSE-IASS London 2011 symposium where
and the alignment of the deck. In total the jacking of the six sections this paper was published.
• Jacking of the deck units: the of this 126m long underpass will last
operators activate the hydraulic approximately 10 weeks. The jacking operation has been successfully
systems to achieve forward movement completed on 24/08/2011. The installation
and to correct possible misalignments. of all six deck units has taken 64 days and
over 4000 man-hours.

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