Project Outline: -

The A303 corridor provides vital connectivity between the southwest and London and the southeast. However, there are several single carriageway sections where road users suffer congestion and long delays. The problems are even worse at peak holiday times during the summer months and on weekends, when over an hour can be added to a typical journey between London and the southwest.

In recognition of this and the harmful effects this has on the south west’s economy, the Government’s Road Investment Strategy set out the intention to transform connectivity by upgrading the A303 corridor to a high-quality dual carriageway.

The section of the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester comprise of a mix of dual and single lane carriageway. This leads to localised congestion, impacting adversely on journey times and journey time reliability.

On a normal day, up to 23,500 vehicles use this section of single carriageway. At weekends in the summer the number of vehicles using this section of road increases even further.

The £135M scheme between Sparkford and Ilchester will not only promote economic growth, it will also tackle the long-standing bottlenecks, reduce journey times to the southwest and improve traffic flows at peak times and during peak seasons.

Walters were appointed by Galliford Try to undertake the earthworks for the scheme which involved moving approximately 1,000,000m3 of earth over two earthworks seasons.

Project Delivery: -

The delivery plan involved the bulk earthworks occurring around seasonal working in order to maximise working efficiencies and minimise disruption to road users.

Walters mobilised to site in August 2021 and commenced the first earthworks season. Season 1 involved the excavation of approximately 90,000m3 of earth from the main cut area at Steart Hill, allowing Galliford Try to occupy this area to construct the new Steart Hill overbridge.

Walters constructed a 2km haul road to connect the Steart Hill excavation area to the main fill area at Hazelgrove, allowing Walters to haul excavated material to fill areas in Hazelgrove, removing the need to use road going wagons.

Walters mobilised a GPS enabled next generation CAT 349 excavator in the main cut area to maximise efficiency and control of the excavation. The excavator was serviced by a CAT 336 excavator and a CAT D6 dozer.

Excavated material was hauled to fill areas using a fleet of new Volvo A30 ADT’s. The team monitored efficiencies and outputs using telematic data throughout the process. Fill material was received and placed in Hazelgrove with a fleet of CAT D6 dozers and CAT CS 76 vibratory soil compactors.

Season 2 earthworks commenced in 2022 and saw the bulk of the earthworks completed, with over 900,000m3 of earth moved. To minimise disruption to existing A303 road users, a temporary bridge was installed across the busy A303 to allow excavated material from the main cuttings to reach fill areas, ensuring that the bulk earthworks element of the scheme had minimal impact on drivers. Over 450,000m3 of material was move across the bridge. In all over 50 items of new company owned heavy earthmoving plant were utilised at the height of the works.

Following completion of the Season 2 bulk earthworks in April 2023, the project moved into the next phase which involved box cutting the road and placing capping ready for the new carriageway to be completed. Walters are currently conducting finishing works which involve tie-ins to the existing carriageway and re-soiling of completed areas.

In June 2024 the newly completed link road which provides access to Hazelgrove School and Camel Hill was opened. Later this year, the next traffic switch will see the entire eastbound carriageway throughout the scheme opened to the public.

Walters expect to complete their work at the project in Autumn 2024.

Added Value & Client Partnerships: -

The scheme will increase road capacity and make journey times to the southwest safer and more reliable.