Balfour Beatty Finishes Concrete Pours

Balfour Beatty has completed the concrete pours for a feeder line box which will provide a route for freight as part of Network Rail's £45 million Reading Viaduct project to relieve rail traffic congestion in the area.

The box, which will allow freight lines from Southampton to run beneath the east-west main line railway passing over the new viaduct, requires six 900mm thick reinforced concrete decks using 3030m³ of concrete.

An additional 2000m³ of concrete has already been poured during construction of seventeen 900mm thick walls and pile caps that support the decks.

In line with Balfour Beatty's commitment to sustainability, the team used concrete with a 40% cement replacement from ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GBBS) and used recycled water in its production process. In the course of the project Balfour Beatty has been able to recycle the majority of materials generated from the site, diverting over 90% of waste from landfill.


William Smith, Balfour Beatty Project Director, said: "The team is working tirelessly to manage the concrete pours on this project. At peak we poured more than 1800m³ in one week on 13 individual key elements. We are pleased to be making such excellent progress despite the adverse weather over the winter."

All six decks that make up the feeder line box are due for completion by the end of this month.

Balfour Beatty's contract to build the new 2km viaduct commenced in January 2013 and will complete in March 2015. The main viaduct structure will be finished during the summer of 2014 and the new lines will be operational in January 2015. Over 400 people worked on the project at its peak.Balfour Beatty has completed the concrete pours for a feeder line box which will provide a route for freight as part of Network Rail's £45 million Reading Viaduct project to relieve rail traffic congestion in the area.

The box, which will allow freight lines from Southampton to run beneath the east-west main line railway passing over the new viaduct, requires six 900mm thick reinforced concrete decks using 3030m³ of concrete.

An additional 2000m³ of concrete has already been poured during construction of seventeen 900mm thick walls and pile caps that support the decks.

In line with Balfour Beatty's commitment to sustainability, the team used concrete with a 40% cement replacement from ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GBBS) and used recycled water in its production process. In the course of the project Balfour Beatty has been able to recycle the majority of materials generated from the site, diverting over 90% of waste from landfill.

(CD)