Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

Birse Civils Delivers a Sustainable Solution in a Sensitive Ecological Area

Eaves Green Link Road is a 1.4km single carriageway completing the southern and western bypass of Chorley in Lancashire, UK. Birse's works included a new roundabout, a traffic-signal controlled junction and a 60m, 3-span concrete bridge. The 11-month scheme was constructed by Birse Civils and completed 15 weeks early.

The Challenge

As a former manufacturing base, the local area around Eaves Green was a key area for employment creation. The Eaves Green Link Road was designed to facilitate the development of the area and open up new employment opportunities.

However, the scheme was situated in a sensitive environmental area alongside the River Yarrow and ancient woodland at Duxbury Woods. Protecting local wildlife was a key consideration, not only during construction but also as a long-term objective. Achieving environmental best practice would be central to the success of the scheme in terms of ecological protection, use of sustainable materials and waste management practices, in addition to minimising noise and vibration impacts during construction.

The Solution

A sustainable urban drainage system successfully created new habitats for Great Crested Newts, with a ‘hibernacula' (shelter for hibernating animals) and adjoining tunnels between the ponds to allow the newts to cross the road safely. In addition, 78 bat boxes were installed around the site.

As the River Yarrow contains breeding Sea Trout, a 1m exclusion zone was created around the river bank to prevent any contamination or disturbance of the watercourse. To protect the ancient woodland identified on the site, the precious topsoil from excavated areas was moved to a receptor site where its native species can continue to thrive.

Preference was given to using recycled materials in the construction. Following advice from Birse Civils, Lancashire County Council elected to use an innovative lime and cement stabilisation process to treat the material in-situ and reduce significantly the generation of excavation waste and the need to import additional fill material.

A tinted perspex environmental barrier on the bridge also prevents noise disturbance to the river valley below.

The Benefits

• Increased biodiversity by providing enhanced animal habitats
• Preserved ancient woodland and provided new access to Duxbury Woods
• Preserved natural resources through 84% of materials by value having recycled content
• Eliminated 24,000m³ of waste material and avoided the need to import additional fill.
• Reusing this site won material eradicated 6,000 wagon journeys resulting in 98% reduction in carbon emissions from waste/fill haulage (equivalent to 162 tonnes of CO2) and a further reducing in associated traffic noise and disturbance.
• 81% of the sub-contractors were employed from within 15 miles of the site
• Laid the foundations for future residential and employment development in the area by improving access to local facilities, in particular schools and employment areas, and established viable public transport routes for the Eaves Green community
• Helped share best practice in innovation and sustainability by hosting site visits from members of the Salford Centre for Research and Innovation in the Built Environment.

This scheme won Builder and Engineer magazine's Civil Engineering Project of the Year 2008 and was also shortlisted for the environmental and sustainable company of the year at these awards.

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