Heavy Duty Road Plates & Trench Covers

Road Plates or Trench Cover?

Crucial for maintaining site accessibility, SafeSite offers a tailored range of road plates and trench covers designed to meet your specific needs. Whether addressing small sinkholes, facilitating wide-trench utility works, or ensuring public access, our selection of trench covers, steel road plates, and GRP road plates provides comprehensive solutions.

What is a Road Plate?

Typically employed to cover temporary excavations and facilitate smooth traffic flow, road plates are commonly constructed from either steel or plastic materials. These plates are well-suited for use on carriageways, demonstrating the ability to withstand the weight of vehicles up to 44 tonnes.

We offer both GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) road plates and sturdy steel road plates, ensuring a diverse range of solutions tailored to your specific needs.

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What is a trench cover?

A trench cover is employed to cover holes, trenches, and openings, typically during construction, maintenance, and repair activities. It is suitable for various purposes, including pedestrian areas, homes, residential spaces, footpaths, and driveways.

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Steel road plates

SafeSite has three standard sizes for steel road plates, 1220mm x 1220mm (4ft x 4ft), 1830mm x 1220mm (6ft x 4ft) and 2440 mm x 1220mm (8ft x 4ft). We can also manufacture road plates to bespoke sizes if these standard sizes are not suitable for your requirements.

Steel road plates can also be manufactured with an anti-skid finish. Anti-skid road plates have more grip and friction compared to standard steel road plates to protect against people or vehicles slipping in wet or muddy conditions.

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GRP road plates

SafeSite’s GRP road plates consist of a modular system of pieces which link together. Both the GRP road plate and end piece measure 1500mm x 50mm. GRP road plates come with an integrated anti-skid surface as standard. As GRP road plates create less noise when people or vehicles pass over them, they are particularly useful in residential areas.

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Trench covers

Trench covers are sturdy plastic covers used to cover bores and trenches, usually during maintenance, construction or repair work. They are suitable for use in pedestrian and residential areas, footpaths and driveways and allow safe pedestrian movement while work is ongoing.

Trench covers are made from plastic, but unlike GRP road plates, they are a single unit and not part of a linked modular system. Unlike GRP or steel road plates, many trench covers can be lifted into place and installed by one person.

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Things to consider when choosing

Size of Cover or Road plate

When choosing trench covers, it’s crucial to consider the appropriate size for your needs. Our selection includes a variety of trench covers and road plates designed to fit most construction jobs, ensuring you find the right match for your specific requirements.

Weight limit

In addition to the size of the trench or excavation, it’s essential to factor in weight limits when choosing trench covers. Consider whether the covers will be used for pedestrians or need to support heavy vehicles and machinery.

Installation

The installation process is a critical factor in selecting the right trench cover. Consider whether you have the time, machinery, and resources for heavy steel trench covers, or if a simpler single-man or 2-man installation process would be more time and cost-effective.

Compliance

Ensuring that your equipment meets standards is crucial for both safety and legal coverage. Neglecting to use compliant equipment not only jeopardizes the safety of your employees but also poses risks to the general public.

The relevant standards include:

• Traffic Advisory Leaflet 6/14 from the Department for Transport. Click Here
• HAUC Specification and operational requirements. Click Here
• British Standards 7976.

Delivery options

Our road plates and trench covers are available to buy or hire with delivery anywhere across the UK. Cost will vary depending on the requirements of the site. Our knowledgeable and friendly team can advise which specification is best for your site. Contact us today.