During monitoring of the site clearance works for the Moycullen Bypass, Himalayan Knotweed was identified at numerous locations throughout the planned road upgrade route.
A series of invasive species surveys had been conducted and their findings identified the presence of Himalayan Knotweed within the project footprint and environs.
Our Work
The proposed road development, extension and upgrade works could not progress until the identified Himalayan Knotweed was eradicated.
We worked on this project with Wills Bros. Ltd. to allow the works to build the bypass to continue.
We, at ATG Group, were tasked to work on a section of the road which contained 5 locations of Himalayan Knotweed ranging from 100m2 to 400m2.
We proposed a hybrid approach to the eradication of the Himalayan Knotweed in this project. This consisted of the Eraginate® Treatment process on all excavated material and a stem injection process on the material within the locations which did not require excavation.
Himalayan Knotweed impacted material could not be dealt with at each location, so we established a central treatment area and brought all the material to that point for treatment.
We excavated the material that required this and transported it to the treatment area to undergo the Eraginate® Treatment Process. This approach allowed us to remove all material quickly, which in turn allowed our client to progress with their work in the area without delay.
We successfully excavated and processed approx. 2,800m3 of soils containing Himalayan Knotweed. We removed the Himalayan Knotweed from the soils and managed to retain these soils on-site rather than dispose of them at a landfill.
The Himalayan Knotweed that did not require excavation was treated over a 3-year period whilst work in those areas was ongoing. We closely monitored these areas to ensure that the treatment was effective and that other development works were not delayed.
Our Savings
Through the implementation of the Eraginate® Treatment and stem injection processes, we were able to:
- Saved our client approx. €600,000/£515,000 as they did not have to dispose of this material in a landfill.
- Diverted approx. 5,100 tonnes from landfill.
- Saved 267,000 kg of CO2.
- Did 91,580 (~56,900 miles) fewer lorry kilometres.
“As the project manager of the project, I was delighted with how this project was carried out. The team worked very closely with our client to ensure that all parties involved were on the same page and that the work was completed as quickly, effectively, and safely as possible. I am proud of our team who managed to complete the works ahead of schedule, allowing other works in the areas to commence sooner.” Stephen Donnelly – Senior Project Manager
