Second Severn Crossing
Reinforced Earth® wire mesh facing system wins its first British Construction Industry Award. The NCE commented that “It is unusual for a temporary structure to be entered for an award, but the Reinforced Earth Company’s TerraTrel Ro-Ro ramp is no ordinary structure. This is a creative, bold and cost effective solution.” During the construction of the Second Severn Crossing, the caissons for the bridge piers were cast on land and transported 500 metres to a sea-going barge. The caissons were then placed on the sea bed and concrete filled. The operation required a 12 metre high jetty ramp to allow the transportation of caissons on crawlers (a combined weight of 2600 tonnes) to the waiting barges. These loads were the heaviest ever transported in Europe and the ramp was inundated throughout its life within the estuary’s 15m tidal range. Reinforced Earth Company Ltd (RECo) ramps were chosen as the safest, most economical solution. It was also the least damaging to the environment of the sea bed as the ramp was built directly on the floor of the estuary.
A50 Blythe Bridge to Queensway
a built-up area some large retaining structures were required for the flyover interchanges Over 5,000 m² of Reinforced Earth retaining walls were provided by RECo with a large proportion having a special cleaved wood finish.
The construction of the A50 Trunk road through Stoke-on- Trent marked a major improvement to the road network of the city, providing much better access to the area. The new route, linked Queensway (A500) dual carriageway with the existing A50 at Blythe Bridge. The A50 (opened in 1997) spans 7km (4.4 miles) across the southern part of the city. As expected in such
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker