Econ Group’s Reactive Division played a pivotal role in the emergency repairs of the M25 infrastructure at JCT 31 Thurrock, working closely with contractors to safely remove hazardous asbestos bitumen below the tarmac surfaces and help ensure the essential roadworks stay on track for completion within a few hours.
The M25, one of the UK's busiest motorways, serves as a vital artery for both commuters and goods, with over 200,000 vehicles passing through each day. Given its centrality to the UK's transport network, ensuring the swift and safe completion of the Thurrock section of the roadwork is of critical importance for maintaining the flow of traffic and minimising disruption.
As part of the complex emergency maintenance work, engineers discovered that a section of running lane 1 had failed and was breaking up, causing a serious hazard to road users. Asbestos-containing bitumen is located below the existing road surface, acting as a waterproof coating on the bridge structure. This type of material, once commonly used in road construction, poses serious health risks if disturbed. For this reason, safe and effective removal is paramount.
Econ Group had been called in to support the safe extraction of these materials, out of hours, bringing its specialist expertise in hazardous material management to the project. The company’s involvement is particularly crucial given the complex logistics of working in such a high-traffic area of the M25 while adhering to stringent health and safety regulations. With a proven track record in managing and safely removing hazardous substances, Econ Group worked closely with our client to ensure that the asbestos-based product was carefully removed and disposed of without disruption to the project’s tight timelines for an out-of-hours road closure of Lanes 1-3.
"The M25 is a vital lifeline for the UK’s transport infrastructure," said Martin Pugh, Asbestos Contracts Manager at Econ Group. "The work we're doing is crucial to keeping the road open, reducing long-term disruption, and maintaining safety for everyone. We're fully committed to supporting the project to ensure the swift, safe, and thorough removal of hazardous materials, and we are dedicated to seeing the reactive response project through to completion.
With the M25 being a key route for the movement of goods and services, any significant delays or closures in the Thurrock area and next to the QE2 Bridge could cause severe traffic congestion and ripple effects throughout the region. The collaborative effort between Econ Group, contractors, and National Highways is essential to ensuring minimal disruption to the public and businesses alike.
The M25 reopened in the morning and Econ Group’s support has helped pave the way for a safer, more efficient road network — all the while minimising risks and challenges posed by the removal of hazardous materials. We have teams working in our reactive division on call 365 days a year, ready to face any situation within our sector’’.
“We were impressed with the approach used by you operation team to carry out the works both professional and diligently. Econ were very accommodating to meet our needs from the initial presentations prepared on strategy to mitigate risks and throughout execution of the works and keeping us fully informed and giving us the confidence we needed. The approach of Econ Site supervisors and visiting managers through to operatives on site was always of a high standard and good-natured and we are pleased to give credit where it is due. On site initiatives by the team from demonstrations /videos of emergency procedures when working in asbestos enclosures and working with consistent site uniforms contributed to the site achieving a Kier ‘Blue’ for best practice and working above standards. This was an excellent example of collaborative working and a joint approach to promptly overcome some of the challenges with asbestos and how best to deal with this along with working near challenging neighbours’ properties, the school and the church.”
