Highways Agency

Conclusions and opinion

11.1 TRL's Preliminary Opinion Report into the accident at Little Heck Railway Bridge was published on 6 March 2001.

11.2 Since the issue of that report, TRL has been conducting further detailed investigations and analysis of site data and documentation obtained from the Highways Agency, WSP Civils Limited and Carillion Highway Maintenance Limited.

11.3 These further investigations support all of the opinions expressed in the Preliminary Opinion Report and, in relation to the incident as a whole, the following conclusions have been reached:

• The carriageway provision and geometry at the material location are consistent with motorway provision generally throughout the UK and provide no cause for concern;
• The material carriageway of the M62 Motorway has been maintained in a responsible manner in general accordance with the required standards;
• It appears that, at the time of Mr Hart's accident, the carriageway surface was in a good condition and met the required standard of skidding resistance;
• Currently, there is no indication that any debris or defect was present on the carriageway surface around the material time and location;
• Although the vicinity was subject to a prolonged period of cold weather around the time of the accident, the available evidence does not suggest that frost, ice or snow would have been present on the road surface around the time of Mr Hart's accident.
• The timing and extent of winter maintenance operations undertaken prior to the time of the material accident are considered to have constituted a reasonable response to both the weather forecast information received and the actual weather conditions experienced;
• The material vehicle did not strike the safety fence at the material location;
• The type and length of safety fencing provided at the material location complies with historical and current standards.
• The characteristics/specification of the Land Rover and its loaded trailer are in excess of the configurations adopted in the containment validation of normal in-service safety fences. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to assess whether the material vehicle combination would have been contained by a standard safety fence. However, it is considered possible to conclude that some containment would have been offered by an extended, full height section of safety fence, which may well have prevented the material vehicle combination from reaching the railway line;
• The accident history of the site has been analysed. During the six years up to the 31 December 2000, no Personal Injury Accidents are reported to have occurred on the westbound carriageway of the M62 Motorway within one kilometre in advance of, and including, the Little Heck Railway Bridge.

TRL Limited
30 March 2001