B&M completes vital drainage maintenance work on busy East Anglia bridge

B&M Waste Services’ drainage division has completed vital maintenance work to clean the gullies of the busy Orwell Bridge in East Anglia.

The bridge is a main artery over the River Orwell and as such B&M had to work quickly and efficiently over three nights to complete the gully cleaning with minimal disruption to traffic.

B&M Waste Services has held a contract to maintain the 117 bridge gullies since 2011 – as part of the contract B&M also cleans all the gullies under the current Highways Agency Area 6, which includes a vast network of trunk roads throughout East Anglia and some of the Home Counties.

Graham Curtis, B&M’s director of drainage services, said: “We had a team of eight men on the project and had to work between the hours 9.30pm and 4am to complete the cleaning within the space of three nights.

Matt Lines, Area Manager for B&M in East Anglia commented “This is an important project due to the road being so busy – if the gullies and pipework aren’t maintained properly, the system will block and it will cause standing water on the road surface of the bridge making driving or cycling very dangerous for road users. The team included myself as well as Jamie Moore and Paul Symonds from B&M, who worked very closely with the engineers to ensure the safe and quick completion of the work.

“Our Highways Agency Area 6 contract sees B&M managing more than 600 miles of the strategic road network throughout Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Peterborough and Essex.

“We are now in negotiations with Amey to renew the Area 6 contract and hope to continue our good work with them.”

B&M is one of the UK’s leading independent drainage maintenance and environmental cleansing companies, with more than 20 years of experience. Operating nationwide, B&M employs a fleet of specially designed gully cleaners which allow for speedy and efficient maintenance of road networks.

Drainage maintenance is vital to ensure the safety of Britain’s roads, with B&M providing a total cleansing solution to prevent flooding and surface water. B&M offers a range of services, including gully cleaning, interceptor cleaning, drain jetting and surveys, and emergency flooding call-outs.