Retention System™ sockets significantly ease the logistical challenges and traffic management involved in transporting wide loads. On Sunday, 6th April 2014, a Crossrail tunnel boring machine, with a 7.1-metre diameter cutterhead and a 65-tonne shield, was driven through the streets of East London.

Along the carefully planned route, traffic signal poles installed in IPL group’s Retention System™ foundations were easily unlocked and lifted out. Each pole lay flat on the ground, undamaged, as the wide load passed by and was then immediately lifted back into its RS socket. The journey took two hours, and traffic signal junctions were quickly back in operation, with traffic disruption kept to a minimum.