Concrete barriers help deliver a ‘smart motorway’
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October 31, 2017
Precast concrete products manufacturer, Charcon Construction Solutions, part of the Aggregate Industries group, has successfully supplied structural precast concrete barriers for a £274m smart motorway project being undertaken by Highways England on the M6 Motorway.
The Highways England scheme between junction 16 at Crewe and junction 19 at Knutsford has seen a new 20-mile-long concrete safety barrier installed in the central reservation.
Placing a rigid concrete barrier in the central reserve, instead of steel, is designed to reduce the risk of vehicles crossing onto the opposite carriageway in collisions and is likely to require fewer repairs, cutting the need for lane closures.
Charcon Construction Solutions worked in partnership with Delta Bloc UK, in which 5,000 barriers were specially designed off-site in factory controlled conditions.
Richard Baldry, general manager for Charcon Construction Solutions, said: “The benefits of using Charcon Construction Solutions to create these precast barriers are that we manufacture them in the UK, in factory controlled conditions, meaning we are able to ensure the quality of the blocks. By completing the quality checks in a factory environment, it also means that Delta Bloc can optimise ‘on site’ efficiency.”
