FP McCann Precast Concrete Box Culvert forms part of under pitch drainage at new Everton FC Stadium

Project: New Everton FC Stadium “The Peoples Project”

Client: Everton Stadium Development Ltd (ESDL)

Main Contractor: Laing O’Rourke

Products Supplied: FP McCann Precast Concrete Box Culvert Sections

Precast concrete box culvert sections manufactured and supplied by FP McCann, have been installed beneath the concourse at Everton FC’s new stadium currently under construction at the former Bramley-Moore Dock site in Liverpool. Tagged “The Peoples Project”, the £505 million Everton Stadium Development Ltd (ESDL) scheme is scheduled for completion for the start of the 2024/25 football season. 

Main contractor Laing O’Rourke Civils & Structures, is well underway with the project having drained the dock and filled the void with 480,000 cubic metres of marine dredged sand. Some 2,500 steel reinforced concrete piles are being installed between 14 metres and 18 metres deep to form the foundation for the stadium build. Ground engineering consultant Buro Happold is responsible for the foundation design along with the below ground drainage on site.

Taking into consideration the projected loaded construction vehicle weights on the site during the build, followed by the required drainage capacity beneath the stadium and pitch when complete, Buro Happold determined that a precast concrete box culvert run would offer the best drainage solution. The inherent design loading structural capability and large holding capacity of FP McCann’s box culverts made them the preferred design option.

In total, 20 standard precast concrete box culvert sections weighing 18.76 tonnes each and measuring 4000mm wide x 1500mm high x 2000mm long, have been supplied to the site from FP McCann’s Byley factory in Cheshire. A bitumen waterproof coating has been applied to each face of the culvert sections prior to delivery. The Laing O’ Rourke team have installed the box culvert run some 40 metres long on a concrete base.

A specialist crane was utilised by the Laing O’Rourke team to unload the delivery vehicles and carefully position each box section. Once in place and prior to the jointing of each unit, a bitumen based rubber sealing strip was applied to the sloping face of each socket joint.

Commenting on the culvert installation, Senior Engineer for Laing O’Rourke Civils & Structures, Richard Judge says, “On this challenging project, FP McCann’s precast concrete box culvert system has provided the ideal engineering solution. The offsite manufactured, quality assured reinforced precast concrete culvert run with its design loading structural capacity, gives us peace of mind that we have in place a very stable and robust drainage channel. The units were simply and quickly installed demonstrating the flexibility that precast concrete box culvert sections can offer in such demanding civil engineering projects.”

For further information on FP McCann’s box culvert solutions, contact the team at Weston Underwood on 01335 361269 or email sales@fpmccann.co.uk