Walters are pleased to announce it has commenced major earthworks on a £150 million contract to design and construct an 8 km section of dual carriageway on the A465 Heads of the Valleys road between Brynmawr and Gilwern.

Working in partnership with Costain, Walters have been involved in this ECI project for over 4 years also working alongside designers Atkins, Halcrow and the RPS Group. The project, designated as Heads of the Valleys Section 2, will present significant engineering and environmental challenges as the on line widening of the existing road passes through a number of sites of special scientific interest including the Clydach Gorge which lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Over the course of the three year project, Walters will handle in excess of 2,100,000m3 of material within the narrow gorge including the excavation of over 400,000m3 of rock, much of which will be processed for re-use within the works. In order to eliminate the requirement to move over 700,000 tonnes of material by road lorry, it is proposed to construct a temporary bridge high above the existing carriageway (pictured above). This structure will enable Walters to move material far more efficiently using articulated dump trucks and in doing so, will remove over 80,000 lorry movements from the already congested highway.

The commencement of Section 2 of the Heads of the Valleys follows closely on the successful completion of Section 3 which Walters undertook in conjunction with Carillion.