New Holland's motorway deployment

A fleet of compact and zero tailswing New Holland excavators has been deployed to assist with motorway crash barrier replacement work.
February 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A New Holland E235B reduced tailswing tracked excavator at work on the motorway
A fleet of compact and zero tailswing 5895 New Holland excavators has been deployed to assist with motorway crash barrier replacement work.

The work is on one of the busiest sections of the M62 in County Yorkshire, northern England, and local civil engineering contractor 1147 K Rouse has deployed eight reduced tailswing tracked machines (four E235Bs and four E135Bs) as well two compact radius MH City wheeled excavators between junctions 27 and 28, south of the city of Leeds. The machines are being used to install new drainage prior to the replacement of the existing steel fences with the now mandatory concrete barriers.

With only one lane of each side of the motorway closed during the work, the space to operate in is limited.

While the E235B tracked machines are used in the central reservation itself as primary earthmovers to excavate the drainage channels, and their smaller E135B cousins work predominantly on backfilling, the MH City machines are used to transport and install materials on site. As a result, they frequently work in the closed lane of the motorway.

"Their great advantage in such a confined area is that they are virtually zero tailswing, which is obviously a very important safety feature in this line of work," said Jim McGibbon, the company's plant manager.

It was this combination of safety and productivity that initially persuaded main contractor 1146 Balfour Beatty to employ K Rouse on the job. "They became aware of it through cross hire, and saw a distinct advantage of using the City machines along with other compact radius models," said McGibbon.

Now the company has been awarded the contract for similar work between junctions 29 and 30 of the M62 which is due to start shortly.
Maintenance

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • More tenders for Lower Thames Crossing
    April 1, 2021
    The winners will build 23km of road connecting to the UK’s longest road tunnel.
    Read More
  • Poland's A1 motorway progressing well
    February 9, 2012
    The second major phase of a north-south motorway in Poland is well underway. It will reduce congestion and improve safety as Patrick Smith reports Before the whistle blows to herald the start of Euro 2012, Poland's main seaport Gdansk will boast new roads, a new airport and a new stadium. The historic city in the north of the country on the Baltic coast will be one of the venues for football's 14th European Championship, being co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
    Read More
  • Europe closes in on the crossings
    September 27, 2017
    The Mersey Gateway bridge project off England’s west coast passed a milestone recently with the first joining of two of the deck sections. The key segments, as the sections are called, link the north approach viaduct to the north pylon deck span and are the first of four deck-joins scheduled for this summer. In total, there are five sections of bridge deck and approach roads that need to be joined.
    Read More
  • Bridge replacement funding approved
    May 10, 2012
    The UK government has confirmed the funding to build a replacement for Northside Road Bridge in Workington, which was destroyed in the floods of November, 2009. Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said that the Department for Transport will provide £11.17 million (e13.25 million) towards the new permanent crossing of the River Derwent in County Cumbria. The council’s Cabinet last month approved Birse Civils, part of the Balfour Beatty Group, as the preferred contractor to build the new bridge.
    Read More

Highlighted Content