Site essentials

Steel trench plates

On the left, a thick steel plate covers the trench opened across the street, the traffic carries on. On the right, without a plate, the same trench stays open behind barriers and the street is closed. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** a thick steel plate covers the trench opened across the street, the traffic carries on. **Right:** without a plate, the same trench stays open behind barriers and the street is closed. Computer-generated image.

A thick steel plate, laid over an excavation.
It lets vehicles and pedestrians through again,
and the trench stays open underneath so that work can resume.

Other names for this product: crossing plates, trench bridges, trench sheets, trench cover plates, road plates, site steel plates.

The essentials

Family: Site essentials
Material: Thick steel plate, often with a non-slip surface
Laying: By machine, over the excavation, bearing on the ground on each side
Carrier machine: None, the vehicles drive over them

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01 Use

What they are for

**Left:** a thick steel plate covers the trench opened across the street, the traffic carries on.
**Right:** without a plate, the same trench stays open behind barriers and the street is closed.
What sets them apart:
they give the roadway back to vehicles above an excavation, without backfilling it between two working days.
Computer-generated image.

A trench plate is a thick steel plate, laid flat over an open excavation.
It bears on the ground on each side:
vehicles and pedestrians pass, and the excavation becomes accessible again as soon as the plate is lifted.

It is used mainly in road and utility work:
a pipe or cable trench crosses a street, a garage access or a company entrance, and the way must stay open in the evening, at night or at the weekend.
It also serves as a temporary bridge over a ditch or a manhole.

The plates are laid and lifted out by machine, using rings or lifting points provided for that.
Their surface can be chequered or treated to limit slipperiness.

A trench plate is calculated. Its span over the excavation, its bearing on the edges and the vehicles that will pass over it decide its thickness.
The permitted load depends on the model, the width of the excavation and the stability of the edges, not on a generic figure.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

These plates are not fitted to any machine: vehicles drive over them.
A machine lays them over the excavation, bearing on the ground on each side.
The weight of one plate decides which machine lays it.
The width of the excavation, the bearing on the edges and their stability: we calculate them with you for your site.

What the tool does

These are plates of thick steel sheet, often with a non-slip surface.
Their dimensions, the permitted load and the weight of one plate: we calculate them with you for your site.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

They need no connection: they are mats laid on the ground.

Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

Don't have these figures?
A photo of the machine is enough to start.

03 Your study

Have your site checked.

Describe the excavation to cover, the road where it is and the vehicles that will pass over it.
State how long the plate will stay in place.

What we need to answer you

The excavation Its width, its length and the nature of its edges.
The road Street, road, garage access, company yard or pavement.
The vehicles Cars, delivery vans, heavy goods vehicles, or pedestrians only.
The laying machine Its make, its type and what it lifts at the required reach.
The duration One night, a few days or several weeks.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

04 Choice

What determines the choice

01 — The width of the excavation Narrow utility trench or wider excavation:
the span decides the length of the plate and its thickness.
02 — The vehicles that pass Pedestrians, cars, lorries:
the thickness is chosen with the heaviest vehicle that will drive over it.
03 — The surface Smooth or chequer plate:
on a road open to the public, a surface that limits slipperiness is chosen.
04 — Laying and lifting out Rings or lifting points, machine available on site:
the weight of the plate is chosen with the machine that handles it.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

Span and bearing They are checked on the actual excavation, with the actual stability of its edges, not with an assumed width.
Holding the plate in position, on the ground and under traffic, follows the maker's instructions:
it is checked before laying.
The permitted load It is checked against the heaviest vehicle expected, not against a figure read on its own.
Lifting The weight of the plate is compared with what the laying machine actually lifts, at the required reach.
Signage The site's temporary signage still has to be planned around the plate, with the road authority.

In the same family