How much trackway before the van sinks?
The item nobody budgets until a caterer's Sprinter is axle-deep in the gateway. Measure once, estimate in seconds.
Our optimiser adds it automatically when your venue is a field. Get the complete kit list for your event.
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Measure the vehicle route from the hard road to where suppliers stop: that distance in metres is your trackway quantity, plus a 10 to 20 metre pad where vehicles turn or unload. Aluminium roadway costs £20 to £40 per metre installed. A typical field site uses 40 to 100 metres.
Why this is the optimiser's favourite item
Trackway is the purest example of what EventSpeed exists for: an item that appears on no one's wish list, decides whether every other supplier can do their job, and costs triple when it is arranged in a panic after the first vehicle sinks. When your venue is a field, our kit list adds it before the marquee company asks.
The vehicle maths is unforgiving: a loaded marquee lorry runs 12 to 18 tonnes, a toilet servicing tanker around 10, and wet grass supports roughly none of that. The years it stays dry, standby terms mean you paid a reservation, not a rescue.
Route, pads, people
Think in three layers: the roadway (gate to working area, full vehicle weight), the pads (turning, parking, unloading: where damage actually happens), and people routes (lighter matting for guests, wheelchairs and pushchairs, priced separately). The trackway hire guide covers all three with prices.
Trackway: quick answers
Do I need trackway for a field event?
If suppliers deliver in anything bigger than a car and the ground is grass, plan for it. The marquee lorry alone weighs several tonnes, and toilet servicing tankers visit even during dry weeks. Some suppliers offer standby terms: reserved, only charged if conditions demand.
How much does trackway cost?
Aluminium panel roadway typically runs £20 to £40 per metre installed, with minimum charges around £500 to £800. A typical 60-metre field route with a turning pad lands between £1,500 and £3,000.
What is the difference between trackway and ground protection mats?
Aluminium trackway takes full HGV weight and makes a roadway. Plastic mats handle light vans, pedestrians and wheelchair routes at a fraction of the price. Most field events need some of each: roadway for the supplier route, mats for people.
How quickly does trackway go down?
Crews lay roughly 100 metres in the first half day on site. It is scheduled as the first delivery, because every other supplier drives in over it.