A12 J13-15 Margaretting, Concrete Road Reconstruction

Achieving outstanding carbon reductions, whilst delivering the project ahead of time with exemplary customer engagement, on the A12 CRF scheme. 

Project overview

The A12 scheme was delivered a part of National Highways concrete roads 5-year programme to repair or replace old-style concrete roads. 

We replaced 18km of existing concrete carriageways, including a new foundation to give a 40-year design life, to prevent further concrete degradation and enhance the safety and serviceability of the carriageway. The highway drainage along the scheme was upgraded to accommodate a 1 in 5-year storm return period with an additional 20% allowance for climate change added to all rainfall data. Where required, attenuation systems were redesigned and installed to accommodate a 1 in 100-year storm return period.  

We used a specially modified planer to undertake the first ever removal of 300mm+ depth reinforced concrete carriageway in a single operation. We achieved a 100% productivity increase and 35% carbon footprint reduction compared to conventional demolition techniques. 

Through joint site visits with National Highways and another framework contractor, we demonstrated the time, whole life cost and carbon benefits. This led to our innovative planer being used to remove 3.2km of concrete road on another contractor’s scheme.