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The West Auckland Bypass has been
some 10 years in the making since work first started on the
reclamation of the former St. Helens Colliery site in October 1997.
This £1.1 million scheme was carried out by DCC Service Direct and
involved the reclamation of 8 hectares of colliery waste heaps and
former railway tracks with the removal of 250,000 tonnes of
contaminated material. A further 100,000 tonnes of material was
moved to radically change the landform in advance of the first stage
of the bypass.
.JPG)
Immediately
following the completion of the
reclamation works Stage 1 of the
Bypass commenced in March 1998. This scheme valued
at over £1.3m was carried out by
Wrekin Construction and
provided the first 1km of the
Bypass between
Fylands
and
St.
Helens
Industrial Estate.
Following the securing of funds (approx. £7.4m)
via the 5-year Local Transport Plan advance
works were able to be started by Balfour Beatty
(Durham Strategic
Alliance for Civil Engineering)
in August 2005. This scheme allowed works to
the River Gaunless channel to be
carried out as well
as
some
advanced earthworks
and
preliminary works for the new
river crossing.
The main works to Stage 2 were commenced by
Balfour Beatty in August 2006 and will be opened
to traffic, on time, in June 2007. This provided
2.4km of new single carriageway
between a new
roundabout at St. Helens Industrial Estate and a further new
roundabout on the existing A688 is also located on the A68 at
Hummerbeck as
well as Broom Mill Bridge providing a new river
crossing. The bridge has a 16m span crossing
both the river and new bridleways. The scheme
provides over 3km of
footway/cycle
track/
bridleway throughout.
In keeping with Durham County Council policy
the work used local natural materials where
possible and waste was kept to a minimum. Materials were recycled
and incorporated into
this
scheme
where possible including
-
locally sourced recycled
materials as sub-base, road
planings used on Public Rights of
Way and Footpaths and
trees mulched for reuse as compost. Deposition of waste
in
landfill was
avoided by re-use
on
site. -A
landscape/planting scheme has been provided
throughout the length
of the new road
and two
balancing ponds which have been constructed as
part of a sustainable surface
water drainage system will
become an attractive habitat for wildlife.
County Councillor Sonny Douthwaite
exclusive message for WAW viewers and residents
(sorry
no longer available at present)
Official Opening Ceremony
(sorry
no longer available at present)
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