A series of ‘road cores’ will be dug in locations around the centre of Ashbourne this week followed by ‘trial holes’ early next week, providing information to inform detailed design and planning for Ashbourne Reborn.
Road cores
Road cores will be taken in Ashbourne on Thursday 27 June. The road cores will confirm the condition of the carriageway surfacing and inform design options for the new carriageway surfacing. Work will start after 7pm and continue through to midnight. Sixteen cores will be taken, each lasting 15 minutes, so any disruption will be very short and localised - localised traffic management will be used.
Trial holes
Starting next week (currently planned from 2 July) residents and visitors may notice small teams working on trial holes which will mainly be on pavements or roads including Dig Street, St John Street and Station Road, with some in public spaces like the Market Place. This work will determine information and confirm working assumptions about the various sites due to be transformed by Ashbourne Reborn.
Trial holes have three main objectives:
- The majority of trial holes will locate the position and depth of utilities to avoid conflict during design and construction.
- A number of ‘test patches’ of pavement reinstatement and rehabilitation will confirm the right working procedures for materials to be used in the Market Place and Victoria Square. This is required by the conditions of planning permission which recognised the rare Grade II listed status of the surfaces.
- A final set of trial holes will confirm the existing construction of different areas and depths of substructures such as bridge decks or cellars. These investigations will be combined with other trial holes where possible.
Led by the County Council, this work is part of the Highways and Public Realm project within the Ashbourne Reborn programme.
