Devon County Council has started it search for a contractor for a £12.5M highway job near Exeter, which involves building a major new link road and delivering 14,500m3 of soil mixing to improve the ground.
Devon County Council wants to build a new link road between the existing Chudleigh Road and the A379, and add a new junction to enable the development of a new residential area to the south west of Exeter.
As part of the project, the A379 will also be widened to provide two ahead lanes and a left turn lane northbound, plus two ahead lanes and a right turn lane southbound. Previously, this section of the A379 was a four-lane road with limited facilities for pedestrians and cyclists, reports Ground Engineering.
In a contract notice the council stated that it is looking for a contractor that can build the new link road – known as Chudleigh Link Road – by carrying out ground improvement using mass soil mixing to an estimated volume of 14,500m3.
The chosen contractor will also be responsible for preparing foundations for the road by excavating existing layers of ground and excavating and replacing an area of historical landfill material adjacent the proposed junction with Chudleigh Road and the new link road.
Bulk earthworks for a roadway embankment will be required under the contract, with the contractor expected to use 48,000m3 of class 1A and 2C general fill to construct the embankment.
Other responsibilities under the contract include the construction of a new surface water drainage system for the roadway, construction of a piped drainage system within the roadway to accommodate the future housing development catchment areas, construction of a 400m length of new road between junctions, and the construction of a footway on one side of the new road.
Work to build the junction at the A379 and Chudleigh Link Road will involve resurfacing of the existing A379. It will also involve widening the A379 northern embankment to accommodate the junction, with Class 1A general fill earthworks used to form the new 1 in 2 embankment slopes.
