User:YSchary/sandbox
Hi regarding the edits, I was only reverting to content from the previous version.
1. I rechecked the contents of all linked references and redid the references. All the material is based on relevant, published source material (NCE, MOD publications). I am copying the full text of the published NCE article for your review.
2. Regarding the delete of the 75% reduction in aggregate and 2/3 cost saving compared to traditional road building...as well as the semi-rigid foundation, harsh weather, plant IEDs, these are the testimony of the Royal Engineers themselves and published in the NCE and other MOD publications. In addition I personally met with, viewed a presentation and discussed these and other aspects of the project with the person responsible, Major Lt Col MTG Bazeley, a few years after the project completion.
3. I'm do not know why the term Neoloy Geocell (formerly refereed to as Neoweb), which is an official Wikipedia page, cannot be used. There are endless mentions of specific products when it is relevant to the project in Wikipedia....particularly when it is unique. Just as one example (first one I came across: Construction of the World Trade Center: "A special type of crane, suitable for constructing such tall buildings, that used hydraulics to lift components and provided its own power was used in construction of the World Trade Center. The Favco Standard 2700 Crane, manufactured by Favelle Mort Ltd. of New South Wales, Australia.")
4. The uniqueness and success of the project was based on the use of the Neoloy Geocell. This enabled drastic reduction in construction costs and time, the use of local materials for construction, and due to its unique properties (coupled with the UK army engineering corps innovation) was directly responsible for saving lives from IED devices. These facts are attested to in the NCE article as well as others from the UK MOD. Without using Neoloy Geocell it would have been just another road....
5. To refer to Neoloy Geocell as a geosynthetic cell system is overly generic and un-encylopedic. First of all it is a Geocell - why the complicated geosynthetic cell system. It would be like calling a Kevlar vest with its unique properties a personal protection device worn on the body. Second, Neoloy is the specific type of Geocell, is like saying the Racing Car driver drove a "car" - what kind of car, a chevy station wagon or a "F1 McLaren-Mercedes" Formula One (the Wikipedia Formula One page also mentions Shell, Mobil, Pirelli, Honda, etc., etc., ....).
6. Text of NCE article reference: Road to Hearts & Minds". New Civil Engineer. 8 July 2010. p. 18.
ROUTE TRIDENT
“BLAZING A TRAIL IN RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL HELMAND PROVINCE, AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, UNDER BUDGET AND UNDER FIRE”
Commissioning Authority:
– Lt Col Matt Bazeley Commanding Officer 28 Engineer Regiment
Military Design Authority (Principal Designer & Article Author):
– Major Adam Foley BEng, MSc, CEng, MICE, MInstRE Officer Commanding 64 Headquarters & Support Squadron
Military Construction Force (Principal Contractor):
– Support Troop 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron
Route TRIDENT is a 7.6km long road designed and constructed by 28 Engineer Regiment in
Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The road runs through the previously Insurgent occupied territory
that was the focus of the UK offensive known as Operation PANCHAI PALANG (Panthers Claw)
conducted in mid 2009. Completed on the 12 March 2010 at a cost of £3.5M, Route TRIDENT is
the first road to be built by the Royal Engineers under fire and in the face of the enemy since
British operations in Dhofar in the early 1970s.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
When 28 Engineer Regiment arrived in Helmand in September 2009, there was an urgency to build on Operation PANCHAI PALANG’s success. However, the freedom of movement for both local Afghans and ISAF troops was severely hampered by the placement of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) along the only trafficable road through the area. It quickly became apparent that in order to bring stability to the region a safe and secure environment needed to be created and critically a new road had to be constructed. 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron were tasked to construct the road. The principle was simple, build a road to join up the new military Patrol Bases to provide security throughout the area to enhance stability and allow for reconstruction and development to flourish.
THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION APPROACH
7.6km long and 6.5m wide, the road was named Route TRIDENT and the Construction Supervision Cell (CSC) from 64 Headquarters and Support Squadron were tasked to conduct a detailed reconnaissance, survey and design. The reconnaissance raised many different challenges that the CSC had previously not experienced. Indeed it could be said that the Designers would face unique challenges that had yet to be experienced in normal road construction. There were three key areas. Firstly, how to keep the cost of the road within an agreeable budget. Secondly, to ensure that the road and its path met the criteria of providing a secure route for both ISAF and the local Afghan people. Thirdly, how to cross the 300m wide Suf Mandah Wadi.
Due to insurgent activity the cost of aggregate in Helmand is disproportionally high and varies from $250 - $650/m³, it was therefore crucial that its use in building the road be minimised, therefore the CSC conducted trials in Camp Bastion using varying fill materials and tested differing road make ups. They used Neoweb to contain locally won fill material (zero cost) which behaved like a semi- rigid slab, distributing loads laterally and dramatically reducing sub-grade contact pressures. Therefore aggregate was only required to produce a wearing surface. This allowed for a reduction in the quantity of aggregate required to a quarter of that of a normal unbound aggregate road, resulting in the total cost of the road being reduced by two thirds.
Ensuring the road provided a safe and secure route posed a greater problem. The threat from insurgents to the local population of Babaji and ISAF forces was from intimidation, small arms, RPGs and the much more indiscriminate IEDs. In September 2009 ISAF forces had conducted a major operation to move material along the existing Babaji Road. This operation took over 48hrs to complete and sadly resulted in two ISAF soldiers killed and 17 injured by IEDs. To counter the threat the designers looked not only at modern materials to provide counter IED properties but also considered military engineering history. The Roman Army built roads that were straight and that you were able to picket, not so easy in Afghanistan where much of the area that required crossing was occupied by farmers’ fields and crisscrossed with irrigation ditches and canals. However, by integrating multi-layered Information, Surveillance. Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) assets and designing the route to link both Afghan National Army and ISAF Patrol Bases (PBs), all but a very small proportion of the road could be secured.
The final hurdle was the crossing of the 300m wide Suf Mandah Wadi. Known to the Team as the ‘Shawaddy Wadi’ it crossed two main irrigation canals feeding the agricultural irrigation system. Making a mistake here was not an option. The local population rely on the flow of water down the
wadi for the irrigation of their crops which are their only means of income. The Team utilised Neoweb yet again to produce a ‘floating road’. Neoweb's cells confined and reinforced the infill material, increasing its shear strength, boosting the road’s load-bearing capacity, reducing settling and forming a flexible structural bridge that distributed the concentrated wheel loads over a wider area. Conventional box culverts were used to maintain the flow in the major irrigation channels.
The Support Troop of 23 Amphibious Engineer Squadron, commanded by Lieutenant Helen Ladd, were tasked with being the Military Construction Force and Major Adam Foley and the Regiment’s Military Plant Foreman (MPF), Staff Sergeant ‘Bernie’ Winter, were the Military Design Authority completing the design and the supervision of construction standards throughout the project. Construction of the road began in mid December 2009 in the heart of the village of Gholam Dastagir Kalay and quickly passed through the adjoining village of Hajji Jamal Kalay before heading off through agricultural and desert areas in Malgir. Although the going improved in the desert the threat from Insurgents increased and the Support Troop found themselves the target of small arms and rocket propelled grenade attacks on an all too frequent basis. Fortunately the protection provided by the Coldstream Guards Battle Group repelled the Insurgent threat to the construction team but it has been an additional and unusual construction challenge.
RESULTS
The effect Route TRIDENT is having on the local population along its length is already quite astounding. In its construction it employed 70 local nationals and over 20 locally hired plant vehicles and operators. The road was completed on the 12 March 2010 and was immediately trafficked by ISAF troops taking essential re-supply items to Patrol Base 4. This convoy moved unhindered and unopposed along the new road in just 25 minutes proving its concept to be an undeniable success. As well as providing a strong and reliable road surface for ISAF troops the road is having an incredible effect on the local populations’ quality of life. In the short time since its completion, shops and markets have sprung up along its route and even a doctor’s surgery and school are being built. The design and construction techniques developed on Route TRIDENT are now being used widely by the Royal Engineers across Helmand which is allowing the British to lead the way in the wider Reconstruction and Development effort. There are now plans to extend Route TRIDENT into the area secured by 11 Light Brigade during Op MOSHTARAK.