BAM, Morgan Sindall start UK’s €112 million Oldbury viaduct job

A joint venture of BAM, Morgan Sindall and VolkerFitzpatrick has started refurbishing the Oldbury viaduct on the UK’s M5 motorway. The €112 million project will see repairs to a 3.5km stretch between junctions 1 and 2 of the motorway – one of the UK’s busiest routes – to the west of Birmingham city. Work is being done in three phases starting with the removal of the road surface on the southbound carriageway to investigate the condition of the concrete deck.
July 31, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
M5 junctions 1 and 2 in need of repair and waterproofing

A joint venture of 7456 BAM, 2567 Morgan Sindall and 2849 VolkerFitzpatrick has started refurbishing the Oldbury viaduct on the UK’s M5 motorway.

The €112 million project will see repairs to a 3.5km stretch between junctions 1 and 2 of the motorway – one of the UK’s busiest routes – to the west of Birmingham city.

Work is being done in three phases starting with the removal of the road surface on the southbound carriageway to investigate the condition of the concrete deck.

Damaged concrete will be repaired and a new waterproofing layer added prior to resurfacing. The process will then be repeated on the northbound carriageway, said Matt Atkinson, project director for the joint venture.

Various sections of the M5 through the West Midlands are elevated – viaducts – that were made of concrete in the late 1960’s. The Oldbury viaduct carries 120,000 vehicles a day, according to 8100 Highways England, the government agency responsible for major roads in England.

“This scheme is the largest concrete repair project ever undertaken in the UK,” the agency said. “To carry out concrete repair and joint replacement works safely, we will need to scaffold under most of the 2.9km long, 30m wide viaduct. All of our scaffolding will then be encapsulated in polythene to prevent the escape of water, dust and debris.”

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Importance of road/tunnel drainage systems
    May 8, 2012
    A variety of systems are available for quickly and efficiently removing water from roads as Patrick Smith reports. The presence of water in a highway layer reduces the bearing capacity of the road, and in doing so it also reduces the structure's lifetime. Indeed, the recent extremely cold winter in many parts of Europe has shown that in colder climates there is a risk of frost damage when water is present resulting in costly potholes, so drainage systems performing properly are important in road design.
    Read More
  • Upgrades planned for key UK link
    July 14, 2014
    Work is now to go ahead on upgrading a key stretch of the A21 road in the UK. Contractor Balfour Beatty will handle the work to widen a stretch of the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury and also improve the road, with it becoming a dual carriageway. The €87.55 million (£69.7 million) scheme forms part of a plan by the UK Government for a series of road improvements of €30.15 billion (£24 billion) by 2021. Advance work is expected to start in the third quarter of this year with the main construction activity
    Read More
  • New M90 surfacing in the UK gain praise
    January 8, 2013
    Early evaluation of surfacing work on the M90 at Rosyth – the first major application of Scotland’s new TS2010 specification – has earned positive praise. Transport Scotland’s determination to obtain pavement that is durable, long lasting and safe (especially in early life) is clearly apparent on the M90 just north of the Forth Road Bridge. Here surfacing has been carried out this spring to TS2010, a tough new specification designed to ensure thin surfacing pavements that work. And the initial prognosis is
    Read More
  • Italy's strategic tunnel link
    August 21, 2012
    The world's largest tunnelling machine is completing Italy's important road connection between Bologna and Florence - Adrian Greeman reports For just under a decade a huge programme of highway construction has been underway in the mountainous region between Bologna and Florence, realigning a section of the A1 highway nearly 70km long. The new section, through major tunnels and across high viaducts, will greatly increase capacity on Italy's most important highway.
    Read More

Highlighted Content