M27 gets ESS bases from Marshalls Civils

Precast bases for electronic signalling systems help convert the UK's M27 into a smart motorway.
By David Arminas August 30, 2021 Read time: 2 mins
Precast foundations by Marshalls Civils & Drainage speed up the upgrade of the M27

Marshalls Civils and Drainage has been installing its precast concrete bases for electronic signalling systems along England’s M27 as part of a smart motorway conversion.

The £244 million (US$338 million) motorway conversion by Highways England runs for 24km.

Between junctions 9 and 11, nine of the 2.3m x 1.6m x 1m deep concrete units have been installed by main contractor J McCann. The units along the will act as foundations for new slip road entry and stop signals to make the former hard shoulder a permanent running lane.

Marshalls says that the ESS installation was done by using MMC - Modern Methods of Construction – and was completed more quickly than would have been using the older cast-in-situ bases. This also eliminated the weather risk from planning the manufacture and installation. Between two and three of the units per night were lifted by crane into pre-prepared excavations then backfilled with self-impacting gravel.

The base units were manufactured with a bitumen coating at Marshalls’ production site in Mells, county Somerset, and are now being considered by McCann’s as standard use for electronic signalling systems. Marshalls is also hoping to supply 1200mm x 1200mm CCTV bases to McCann’s for the smart motorway conversion of the M6 motorway between junctions 21 and 26.

Bart Maslon, project supervisor with McCann, said the units were made-to -order because they had to be larger than usual. Being able to install up to four foundations per night would not be achievable if the foundations were cast on site. “Offsite is definitely the way forward. The Marshalls bases were manufactured, delivered and installed exactly as planned and programmed.”

Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Special concrete paver for UK road job
    January 5, 2015
    A specially adapted Wirtgen SP25i concrete slipformer has been used on the M6 motorway near Cannock in the UK. The machine worked together with a Wirtgen ISF25i (independent side feeder) in order to pave a concrete slab under difficult conditions. With an overall length of 373km, the M6 is the longest and one of the most heavily congested motorways in the UK. The M6 connects the M1 motorway near Rugby with Carlisle near the Scottish border. But due to the steadily growing volume of traffic, the Highways
    Read More
  • Montreal’s new Champlain Bridge is shaping up for Christmas
    September 10, 2018
    Montreal’s Champlain Bridges - one going up, one coming down, reports David Arminas The importance of the new Champlain Bridge to Montreal and Canada can’t be overstated, given the crumbling nature of the not-so-old original Champlain Bridge. The original steel truss affair across the St Lawrence River and the adjacent St Lawrence Seaway canal is “a lifeline for residents and businesses” in greater Montréal, according to the national Auditor General - the public sector spending watchdog. “It accommodates
    Read More
  • New EU-Russian highway connection
    February 18, 2013
    Among the forests and lakes of Finland, one of Europe's newest motorway links is being built as a Green highway linking Europe to Russia - Adrian Greeman reports The road eastwards from Finland's capital Helsinki, along the north coast of the Gulf of Finland, has not carried heavy traffic volumes, at least until recent times. Highway seven as it is designated locally, or E18 in European nomenclature, is partly motorway but in some sections still dual carriageway or even just a single lane each way, finishin
    Read More
  • New Zealand’s Waterview project is moving closer to completion
    December 13, 2016
    New Zealand’s biggest road project is less than a year away from completion, and a lot of progress has been made since World Highways last looked at the project two years ago - Mary Searle Bell reports New Zealand’s Waterview project is moving closer to completion and will be the largest road project in the country. The NZ$2 billion Western Ring Route will see the creation of an alternative motorway to State Highway 1, which runs through the centre of Auckland. The 47km-long motorway will allow a large p
    Read More

Highlighted Content