Newsletter Early Summer 2004 9

Tenth Anniversary for Highways Agency Partnering pays off This year the Highways Agency celebrates its 10th anniversary as for M1 barrier work provider of the major roads network. This consists of 5,130 miles of Refurbishment works to the M1 motorway motorways and trunk roads. The between junctions 1 and 2 included the Agency has an annual programme installation of around 2,100 m of in-situ budget of £1.6bn, of which some £500 concrete barrier, the majority of which was million is spent on major improvements high containment (H4a), located in the verge. to the network. The project, undertaken on behalf of The English strategic road network is the Highways Agency and managed by Mouchel, largest single Government asset, valued was awarded to Tarmac National Contracting at £65bn. It carries one third of all road just before Christmas, with a start on site traffic in and two thirds of all around the middle of February, and all work heavy freight traffic, with more than to be completed by end of March. The 170 billion vehicle kilometre journeys quantity and duration of the concrete barrier undertaken every year. work meant that its construction was on the critical path of the entire project The current programme contains more programme. than 70 major schemes, each over £5 million. The specialist slipform paving subcontract works were awarded to Extrudakerb and Schemes due to start in 2004 – 05 detailed planning and preparation work was A63 Melton Junction, East undertaken between subcontractor, main A5 Weeford Fazeley Improvement, Staffordshire contractor and project manager to explore A421 Great Barford Bypass, new avenues in an effort to provide rates of A14 Rookery Crossroad, Suffolk production never previously achieved. Slipforming vertical concrete safety barrier on the M1 refurbishment work. A47 Thorney Bypass, Peterborough Extrudakerb realised that the appointment M4 Junction 18 Eastbound Diverge, Bristol/South of a concrete supplier who understood the were consistently achieved, peaking at Gloucestershire demands of the slipform process, and 134 m3 within an eight hour paving shift. M5 Junction 17 – 18 Northbound Climbing Lane specifically those associated with high barrier All barrier was constructed within tolerance A249 Iwade-Queenborough Improvement (DBFO), paving, was critical to the success of the and no remedial works were required, a Kent project. RMC Readymix was awarded the testimony to the success of the partnering contract to supply the 3,500 m3 of C28/35 Schemes due to finish 2004 – 05 achieved between subcontractor and air-entrained concrete required from their A10 Wadesmill Colliers End Bypass, concrete supplier. plant. A120 Stansted-Braintree, Essex A21 Lamberhurst Bypass, Kent For the first time the concrete base and In light of the projected increase in A34 Chievely/M4 Junction 13 Improvement, haunch, below and at the back of the barrier, demand for concrete barrier across the road Berkshire was slipformed, enabling high production network, Highways Agency should take A63 Bypass, North Yorkshire rates to be achieved at high tolerance and comfort from the fact that industry is clearly demonstrating both a desire and an ability A2 Bean Cobham Phase 1, Kent avoiding the time consuming and costly follow-on works of hand laying the verge to meet demand and deliver a quality A1 Stannington Junction, Northumberland side haunch after barrier construction. product at high rates of production. Schemes completed 2003 – 04 However restricted working space dictated For more information contact that some lengths had to be hand laid. A500 Basford, Hough, Shavington Bypass, [email protected] Staffordshire Extrudakerb provided two four-track A46 Newark-Lincoln Improvement, Lincolnshire Gomaco Commander III slipform pavers to A6 Rothwell-Desborough Bypass, which paving moulds can be mounted to the Diary Dates left or right side, allowing both verge and A6 and Higham Ferrers Bypass, central reservation works to progress in the Annual General Meeting Northamptonshire same direction as adjacent traffic flow, 11.30 am, 10 June A41 Aston Clinton Bypass, avoiding the need to turn around concrete Novotel, Euston, A1033Hedon Road Improvement, delivery wagons. Britpave Conference 2004 A6 Alvaston Bypass, 27 & 28 September A650 Bingley Relief Road, The careful planning and pre-start meetings paid off; record rates of production Belton Woods Hotel, Grantham

www.britpave.org.uk 1 Local aggregates Preparing for increase sustainability the big bird for Jersey Airport

By the time the first A380 lands at Heathrow in spring 2006, many of its taxiways will have been widened and repositioned, both of its two runways lengthened, and entire pier redeveloped and aircraft stands modified to accommodate the larger aircraft. The £430 million project, which will last three years, got underway with the redevelopment of two taxiways adjacent to the southern runway, when AMEC began widening and repositioning them to accommodate the new aircraft’s 80 m Jersey Airport, before and after completion of the new taxiway wingspan. Working in small sections to keep Taxiway Alpha at Jersey Airport was of • Pavement quality concrete (PQC) of diversions to a minimum, AMEC is replacing inadequate strength and had became higher strength than previously used 150,000 m2 of concrete pavement with new uneconomic to maintain. Additionally, it pavement quality concrete. As the airport is • High modulus bituminous material. was not far enough from the runway to built mainly on gravel, cement stabilisation comply with current safety standards. To The life cycle cost analysis showed that the is also being used. The old concrete is being cope with future air traffic and the safety rigid pavement option was preferable. recycled for use in the construction work aspects, the decision was taken to realign for Terminal 5. and strengthen this taxiway. Since the pavement design was based on an analytical approach the materials were Following this is the redevelopment of As an island, Jersey has limited aggregate specified in terms of performance rather Pier 6 of Terminal 3, which is being resources, and high harbour dues make the than taking a prescribed approach demolished and realigned to suit the A380 importation of materials and specialised taxiway. There will also be four stands plant expensive. Therefore optimising the End product performance related testing capable of accommodating the new plane. pavement design and maximising the was adopted to monitor and approve the A particular challenge is managing the performance of locally available materials pavement materials during construction. interface between several projects were key to achieving best value for the This included dynamic plate bearing tests underway at the same time, including the project. for the subgrade and capping stiffnesses, and compressive strength for the PQC and construction of a new tunnel between the The client, Jersey Airport, had experience CBM. central terminal area and the new Terminal 5. of concrete taxiways utilising local This will allow the delivery of three remote aggregates and found that they provided The development work achieved T5 stands before the opening of the new low maintenance and long term durability, considerable improvements in the terminal building. but they also had to consider the pavement’s value for money and allowed BAA’s Managing Director, Mike Clasper, alternative of flexible pavements, taking the utilisation of more sustainable predicts moderate growth in air traffic of into account whole life cost where pavement materials with associated 3 – 5% per annum over the next 10 years, resurfacing would be required within the environmental benefits. The following cost with recent traffic affected by the SARS pavement design life. savings were achieved: outbreak. Despite the slowdown, he says The contractor, Britpave members, Scott • 10% reduction in PQC thickness due to that runway capacity in the south east has Wilson Pavement Engineering, carried out higher flexural strength already reached capacity during the peak material studies to ascertain the way • 30% cost saving in CBM by using hours, and calls for the Government’s forward, making best use of local secondary aggregates consultation on future runways to help materials. These were carried out in the meet long term objectives. laboratory followed by field trials: They • 90% reduction in capping cost by BAA is already committed to investment investigated: utilising site excavated Mudstone in lieu of granular materials. of over £8bn over the next 10 years. • Capping/subgrade improvement from Projects include the £3.9m on Terminal 5, Mudstone (in nearby borrow pits) For further details contact: Dr Bachar £1bn at Gatwick to raise capacity to Hakim of Scott Wilson Pavement 40 million passengers, £800m at Stansted, • Cement bound material (CBM) using Engineering at [email protected] £3.4bn at Heathrow and £500m at Scottish quarry screenings airports.

2 www.britpave.org.uk extension finishes four months early

London City Airport now has the benefit of increased capacity following the completion in September 2003 of the Runway 28 Hold project that provided valuable holding space for aircraft at the eastern end of the runway. The unique surroundings of this innovative airport provided challenges to the designers and contractors. The airport, originally built on a strip of land between the King George V and Royal Albert docks, had restricted ground manoeuvring options. This tended to tie up the runway while aircraft taxied into position, reducing the number of movements. Now aircraft can taxi in sets of four, with the Runway 28 Hold providing an area to contain aircraft ready for takeoff in quick London City airport showing the new holding area in the foreground succession. Landing capacity is also increased by clearing aircraft to the Hold while further aircraft land. operations of concreting and pile distance from the operational runway. This placement were programmed to occur was sited on the location of an existing The hold area is partially constructed when the airport was closed during the warehouse, demolished at the start of the over the water of the King George V dock night and in windows at weekends. Other project. To limit the daytime noise one of and is connected to the runway with three less intrusive activities, including fixing the warehouse walls was left in place and new links. reinforcing and saw cutting PQC, were soundproofed. This reduced visual impact, A mixture of marine and traditional performed during the day while the dust spread as well as noise. airport construction techniques was required airport was operational. Community relations were further to complete the project. These were: Work on the airfield during operational enhanced by inviting local residents to the • Marine piling to support the structure hours was managed in two ways. formal opening. The evening culminated in over the impounded dock, consisting of A frangible security fence was erected to a spectacular fireworks display from a 54 piles, each 25 m long and 1m in separate the hold area from the airfield. barge moored against the runway hold. diameter. This resulted in the labour entering the site In addition to the aircraft hold the by boat. Any work on the airfield side airport has planning permission to extend • Precast beams and planks totalling beyond this fence was performed under 3 the apron area to the east of the terminal 1620 m of concrete were installed over constant radio contact with the air traffic building. This will increase the number of the piles to form the principal support control tower. structure of the airfield pavement. The stands at the terminal allowing the full use of offsite casting significantly The project was completed four months potential of the hold point to be utilised. ahead of time in line with an accelerated reduced working time at the site and so For further information contact Rob programme agreed with Mowlem. This minimised the impact on operations. Jenner at Atkins, Design Environment & enabled cost savings to be achieved for Engineering at [email protected] • A reinforced in-situ concrete topping was both the client and the contractor. laid over the precast units to form the pavement, totalling 700 m3. This created The airport prides itself in maintaining The concrete good relations with the local residents. a constant running surface and structural Precast concrete The precast concrete It was crucial to carefully manage continuity. was a C50 mix, designed to give an early construction activities that may have 3 strength of 25 N/mm2 before being lifted • Some 3600 m of Pavement Quality caused nuisance, particularly dust and from the casting beds at three days. Concrete provided the links to the noise. Pile casings, which had to be placed existing runway. at night, were installed using a vibration Pile concrete A C50 mix was also used The project was managed by Atkins and technique, greatly reducing the noise in the piles. To achieve the placement in constructed by Mowlem under the NEC compared with driven piling. Once the the pile it was designed with a slump of design and build contract. casings were driven, the soil inside was 150 mm, and vibrated using a tremie augured out and concrete poured to create pipe. The height and safety restrictions the reinforced concrete pile. Sound imposed by working near to a live airfield proofing was erected around stationary PQC concrete This was designed for a 2 meant that the work had to be carefully plant to reduce the noise further. flexural strength of 4 N/mm and had 6% planned to allow continued operations air entrained. Plasticisers were used to through the planned 12 month Daytime operations were normally improve the workability and it was all construction period. The larger scale performed in the pecasting yard, some hand laid.

www.britpave.org.uk 3 ALL SET FOR MORE EMBEDDED RAIL TRIALS

Ballast supply train running on the latest slab track

As reported in the Summer issue of per hour were achieved and all parties less maintenance. Supporters of slab track Britpave News, Network Rail is to test a agreed that on larger scale projects an say that one obstacle to its wider adoption type of track that will not buckle in the average rate of progress of between in the UK is the difficulty of abandoning heat and would prevent derailments such 18 and 24 m3 per hour could be maintained. contemporary maintenance practices as the one that caused the Hatfield crash. associated with ballasted track. In mainland Alignment tolerances of the finished slab The slab track rails are set in continuous Europe, hundreds of kilometres of slab track were within +/-3 mm with rail fixed reinforced concrete channel rather than track are being constructed for new high to tolerances demonstrably better than on being attached to railway sleepers resting speed routes. on conventional ballast. conventional ballast. Embedded rail is initially more expensive than conventionally For further information contact A test section has entered service on the ballasted track, but requires significantly [email protected] Crewe to Kidsgrove line in Cheshire. It was constructed for Balfour Beatty Rail Projects following their construction overseas of similar trial sections by conventional fixed form methods. The work involved first slipforming a foundation Grade C15 base slab 2.7 m wide and 170 mm to 270 mm thick. Starter bars were inserted into the wet concrete providing accurate and secure fixing points for the substantial continuously reinforced cage. This was fabricated on site and set to very accurate tolerances to ensure correct concrete cover. Two paving moulds were required, one for the base layer and one for the slab track. They were designed and manufactured in house by Britpave members, Extrudakerb. The quality of both design and build was of paramount importance and in addition to Extrudakerb’s normal quality control procedures, Balfour Beatty engineers visited the workshops periodically. Guided busways The slipform paving works were grab the cash executed in a manner that was designed to not only satisfy contractor and client Guided busway schemes for and that the process could achieve the Cambridge came top of a list of 20 required exacting finished build tolerances, newly approved major local but also to demonstrate that, if larger schemes in December’s LTO settlement, scale works were to be undertaken, viable highlighting the Government’s emphasis production rates could be achieved. on bus-based investment. Concrete was supplied by Hanson Premix Among 17 provisionally accepted major and detailed liaison between concrete schemes, the busways accounted for supplier, slipform paving contractor and more than half the £279 million principle contractor were held to ensure earmarked for 11 public transport that mix design and concrete production projects. met expectations and project requirements. • Britpave is currently preparing a Even though the production was of a Guided busway design guide that will 3 limited quantity, rates in excess of 12 m Starter bars provide secure fixing for be available soon. reinforcement cage

4 www.britpave.org.uk ShelvedShelved high-speedhigh-speed railrail linklink ‘essential’‘essential’

Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for between London and the main northern Transport, came under intense pressure from cities Meanwhile, his own advisors earlier this year to rethink his controversial decision to postpone In addition a new London to Scotland indefinitely the construction of a high-speed route could carry up to 220 trains a day, in the USA… rail link from London to the North. more than twice the number possible on an upgraded . The The US Senate recently passed legislation Plans by rail chiefs for the 200 mph economic benefits of such projects re authorising the Transportation and railway have been shelved because of outweigh the costs by up to three to one, Equity Act for the 21st century, which ministerial anxiety over public spending, said the report. provides $318 billion over six years for the but a government-funded commission said nation’s surface transportation systems. that such projects were ‘essential’ because Chair of the Commission and non- The bill’s funding level, including $294 of increasing congestion on the existing executive member of the SRA’s governing billion in guaranteed funding, is the network body, Professor David Begg, said ‘This study demonstrates clearly that high-speed lines minimum amount needed to ensure that In a report that will be seen as deeply are not only desirable between main cities, every state receives 95% return on the embarrassing to Mr Darling, the advisory but are essential if we are to deal with user fees collected in that state, group said that the immediate priority capacity constraints that are building up on while also ensuring that every state was to boost existing performance, but our inter-city network’. receives at least a 10% increase in federal ministers should also look to the future. funding over current levels. Separate proposals from Richard Bowker, The Commission for Integrated Transport SRA Chairman, for a £36 bn north-south In addition, this is the minimum funding proposed a series of express routes, which line were due to be published last summer, level to address the growing deterioration would substantially cut journey times but have been delayed. of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. These resources will create over two million job opportunities over the next six years at a time when every Motoring organisations state’s economy needs a boost. call for road improvements Review of SRA announced

RAC calls for £20bn road In addition, the M4 should be widened Earlier this year the SRA’s annual widening into four lanes in each direction between report, leaked to The Independent, the M25 and Reading, and the M3 was suppressed by the Government. More than 1000 miles of motorways and widened between the M25 and Fleet. It said that the network was ramshackle A-roads must be widened and dozens of and would fail to show any major bottlenecks removed over the next decade AA calls for road tax trust fund improvement unless the industry if Britain is to avoid gridlock, says the RAC receives billions of pounds from the The £38bn paid every year by motorists in in a recently published report. taxpayer. taxes should be placed into a trust fund to The organisation has drawn up a £20bn be used solely for road improvements, A week later, the government road improvement programme, which it says the AA. announced the most radical review believes should replace the government’s of the rail network since privatisation, The organisation also said the fund should existing ‘ad hoc and short term’ roads with the SRA undergoing a most be administered without intervention from policy. detailed examination. Making the politicians in a manner similar to that in announcement, Alistair Darling The plan includes widening 375 miles of New Zealand. It also points out that in the confirmed that there would also be a motorway, upgrading 277 miles of A-roads mid 1970s, expenditure on roads broadly fundamental examination of safety to motorway and 400 miles of single matched the money raised from taxing management on the network. carriageways roads into dual carriageway. motorists, but now lags far behind.

www.britpave.org.uk 5 TIME TO START BOOKING … for the 2004 Britpave Dinner & Seminar

De Vere Belton Woods Hotel, Grantham

The dinner is to be held on Monday approaches to concrete paving. The The hotel is set within 275 acres with 27 September, followed by the Seminar on Seminar will also bring news of the latest excellent leisure facilities, including two Tuesday. Full details can be viewed on the developments in airfield, rail and soils championship length golf courses. As has website, and you can also make your stabilisation markets. become established over the past two booking online. years, the golfer (and hackers) will be able Dinner on the Monday will be the usual to play for the magnificent Britpave Cup. The keynote speaker is Archie Robertson, lively affair. This year’s speaker is Peter The current holders, Gomaco, will be very Chief Executive of the HA, and there is an Brown, the ex Crown Court Prosecutor. He keen to hang on to their trophy. international flavour to the programme is guaranteed to keep us amused and with presentations from Belgium and the entertained with his irreverent look at the Contact [email protected] Netherlands on their innovative law. for details of the Golf Day. Remember

CALLING ALL EXHIBITORS Don’t forget that there will be an opportunity to showcase your company You will need to book your rooms and its services during the two days of directly with the hotel, mentioning the Britpave seminar. Britpave to benefit from the reduced rate of £109.00 for bed and breakfast. At this venue space is limited, so contact The magnificent Britpave Cup is the the Britpave office early to find out Visit www.devereonline.co.uk or incentive for all keen golfers to arrive more and to book your space. phone reservations on 01476 593 20 early on Monday 27th September. [email protected]

6 www.britpave.org.uk NEWS FROM THE INDUSTRY – AT HOME AND ABROAD

Owen Williams Slipforming kerb and gutter in one pass scoops award Britpave Chairman-elect, David Gillham, Business Development Manager with Owen Williams, is currently riding high – his company has just won the NCE- sponsored Major Firm category in the Consultant of the Year Awards for 2004. The consultancy has grown by 50% in the last four years and staff members number over 800.

One-stop shop for concrete info Concrete Information Ltd, the joint venture between the BCA and The Concrete Society, has just completed a two-year DTI-funded project to develop a one-stop online shop for cement and concrete information. The new site has been well received by the partners, including the professional institutions. To access both the free and subscription services go to www.concretinfo.org. The site includes the Concrete Bookshop as Slipforming the kerb and gutter in one pass with Gomaco’s GT-3600. With a crew of only five or six, the contractor in Indiana virtually eliminated finishing work. And, with its well as many of the Concrete Society steering features, the machine is able to cope with working around trees, and the based services. driveway cut out attachment saves time in residential areas.

Global opportunities The 6th International Congress of the University of Dundee’s Concrete Drainage Technology Unit will be held on 5 – 7 July 2005. With the theme of STOP ‘Global construction: ultimate concrete channel opportunities’, the congress will be split into 10 separate events lasting from clarification 1 to 3 days. PRESS Following representation by Britpave, The call for papers is out now, with the HA has re-confirmed its requirement As we went to press, the Highways submission of abstracts required soon. for the construction of road-edge Agency has told Britpave that the For details visit www.ctucongress.co.uk. surface water channels. They state concrete step barrier described in the clearly that ‘On all HA roads, hard last issue of Britpave News, is acceptable Confident about shoulders and hard strips should be for use as normal containment (N2) capable of withstanding full highway higher containment (H1) and also for environmental legislation? loading, and all road-edge drainage the enhanced containment level (H2). According to the Environment Agency, features, except kerbs, should be Some further work needs to be done to only 19% of businesses can name any designed to be capable of withstanding allow the new barrier to be included in environmental legislation that applies to accidental loadings. Kerbs should be the Manual of Contract Documents for them. While the figure would be designed to be capable of withstanding Highways Works, and the Task Group significantly higher among Britpave vehicle impacts equivalent to that of led by James Charlesworth has now members, there may still be some areas full highway loading.’ provided this additional information of uncertainty. It may help to visit for the HA. NetRegs at www.environment- This should mean that inferior products agency.gov.uk/netregs and designs will not be accepted by the The use of the step barrier will require a Agency, even when proposed under Departure from Standard until it can be design and build forms of contract. included in the next revision to the HA’s Departmental Standards Ultra-high performance • The standard requirements for An international conference on ultra- concrete channels are given in the This is major achievement for Britpave, high performance concrete is to be held Manual of contract documents for and all members of the Barriers Task on 13 to 15 September at the University highway works (MCHW): Highway Group are to be congratulated for their of Kassel, Germany. For details, visit construction details: HCD B14 tremendous efforts. www.uni-kassel.de/uhpc2004/

www.britpave.org.uk 7 Britpave Director admitted to Worshipful Company of Paviors

Britpave Director, David Jones, was recently admitted to the Worshipful Company Of Paviors. David was sponsored by Terry Rochester, who many will remember as Chief Highways Engineer. Although it has its roots in Medieval London, the Company is a thoroughly modern livery and a high percentage of its members are directly connected with highways and construction. The Company’s Highways Engineering Education Trust has established grants and bursaries to promote both engineering and business excellence. It also sponsors an annual Paviors Lecture at Imperial College and in 1955 established the Roadmakers Museum at Amberley in West Sussex. The Paviors also have links with HMS Argyll and 131 Commando Squadron, Royal Engineers, and supports the City of David Jones receiving his admittance to the Freedom of the at a ceremony London’s Freeman’s School, the Guildhall held in March. School of Music. Their support includes RedR, which is closely associated with our industry. New on the Britpave on the move A requirement for admission to the Britpave has relocated to offices near Livery is admission to the Freedom of the Britpave Website Camberley, where it shares brand new City of London. The historic Freedom We are constantly improving the website, premises with The Concrete Centre, BCA, ceremony takes place in the Chamberlain’s but do really need more input from The Concrete Society and Concrete Court, Guildhall. Freemen are required to members. Since the last Newsletter, we Information Ltd. Our new address is given read aloud, in Court, the Declaration of a have posted all our press releases on the below. If you are planning to visit us, Freeman and to sign the magnificent site to make members and the press aware follow signs to Blackwater Station, or declaration Book. of the information we have been enter Blackwater on one of the web-based releasing. There is now also a photo route map sites. For more information about the gallery from which images can be Company, visit www.paviors.org.uk downloaded for member’s own use. Look under News and Events for the Press Releases and Publications for the Photo NEW LEADER FOR Gallery. Stabilisation Task Group Feedback indicates that this is very popular, but you will see that we are still Britpave Newsletter is published Chris Harnan of short of good photos in many areas. Please regularly by Britpave with the aim O’Keefe Soil send any new photos, plus appropriate Stabilisation was captions, to the Britpave office for posting of keeping members up to date on recently elected as on the website. Association matters, industry leader for the Soil developments and member Stabilisation Task Please note that the Task Group meeting company news and views. Please Group. Thanks and dates are now available on the site, so appreciation are due help keep us in the picture on all check these with your diaries. to Brian Heron and of this by sending us any relevant Jonathan Smith for information that you feel may be their work in bringing this Task Group to the stage of interest to the membership. where it is actively producing output, Britpave including a new technical datasheet Riverside House, Stabilised soils as subbase for roads and other pavements. 4 Station Approach, Blackwater, Camberley, GU17 9AB The Task Group is also working in conjunction with The Concrete Centre Tel: 01276 33160 on organising two half-day seminars on E-mail: [email protected] stabilisation to be held later this year. Web: www.britpave.org.uk

8 www.britpave.org.uk