Heidelberg Materials UK has worked collaboratively with Westmorland and Furness  Council to improve a 1.5-mile stretch of the A689 in Cumbria. 

The company has resurfaced the road between Harbut Lodge and the Alston War  Memorial as part of its highway framework agreement with the council, which it won in  2024 following a competitive tender process. 

The scheme used Heidelberg Materials’ CarbonLock biogenic asphalt to reduce the  carbon footprint of the project, as well as trialling electric paving equipment. 

CarbonLock contains biogenic material within the binder that absorbs and stores CO₂  from the atmosphere during its life. This CO₂ is permanently ‘locked’ into the asphalt,  even when it is recycled. 

“This was the first time we have used CarbonLock biogenic asphalt as part of the  framework agreement and it was an excellent example of how we can help our clients  meet their carbon reduction goals,” said Adrian Stubbs, Regional General Manager at  Heidelberg Materials Contracting. 

“We worked to a tight schedule and delivered the improvement works on time,  ensuring further planned work was not impacted, and provided a 21 per cent carbon  reduction compared with laying standard hot-mix asphalt.” 

Kieron Tetchner, Lead Network Manager at Westmorland and Furness Council, added:  “Westmorland and Furness Council Highways has collaborated closely with Heidelberg  Materials to design this carbon exemplar scheme in Alston as part of our highway  framework agreement, which was established in 2024. 

“To meet council priorities, and as part of our drive for service innovation, we jointly  challenged the highways team and Heidelberg Materials’ technical team to design a  scheme using CarbonLock biogenic asphalt and electric vehicles wherever possible to  reduce the overall carbon and environmental footprint of the project.

(Picture: Heidelberg Materials)