Lidar Mapping of Prittle Tunnel

Project: Prittle Tunnel
Scope: To carry out a combined Lidar and CCTV survey of a 4.5km tunnel
Location: Southend On Sea, Essex

We were approached by Atkins consulting Engineers through our JV partner Reach Engineering to provide a benchmark survey of a 2.5 metre diameter segmented concrete tunnel, which acts as a flood relief channel for the Prittle Brook.

Our remit was to survey the tunnel with millimetre accuracy to enable The Environment Agency to assess and fully understand the condition of their asset using a technology that would enable subsequent surveys to flag-up millimetre accurate changes.

With difficult and restricted access, distances between access hatches in excess of 1.5km and a 15-minute flash-flood warning a confined space manned-entry was not an option.

Our long-range, multi-task crawler was the only option for a survey with a 4.5km excursion range and provided an ideal platform for the Industry-leading Lidar system. The system has a repeatable accuracy of –1mm.

In addition to Lidar, the crawler was fitted with low-light, high resolution colour cameras and high intensity variable lighting pods, mounted on a pan & tilt head to provide additional useful visual data.

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The previous inspection was carried out by a confined space entry team. For this inspection, with remote operated technology, available today, we were keen to avoid the risks associated with undertaking a walkthrough of the tunnel. The crawler and CCTV provided very good quality results. The addition of Lidar provided a substantial further benefit for our Client, enabling future inspection results to be compared and checked for any signs of movement / changes. The work was carried out carefully and safely by a professional team, who were a pleasure to work with.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Question

Why was LiDAR chosen for Prittle Tunnel?

It delivers millimetre-level geometry for a reliable baseline model, enabling precise change detection on future inspections.

The long-range crawler carried an industry-leading LiDAR unit with stable mounting, controlled traverse, and consistent survey control for repeatable results.

Access hatches were over 1.5 km apart and the tunnel had a 15-minute flash-flood warning—remote inspection eliminated unnecessary confined-space risk.

Low-light, high-resolution CCTV with variable lighting on a pan-tilt head provided visual context for features identified in the point cloud.

The benchmark model allows later surveys to be compared like-for-like, flagging even small movements or deformation for early intervention.