Kingsbrook

Major infrastructure and groundworks

Client:
Barratt North Thames
Engineer:
C & A Consulting Engineers
Location:
Kingsbrook, Buckinghamshire
Sector:
Residential & Infrastructure
Project Value:
£20 Million

Services:

Highways and Infrastructure Groundworks Bulk Excavations

Project Scope

35,000m2 of on-site carriageways
7km of storm drainage
4.5km of foul drainage
Lined attenuation basins
£1.2 million off-site signalised junction
70,000m3 borrow pit – blue clay extraction for capping rep

Project Overview

Barratt Homes contracted us at the beginning of 2018 to build infrastructure and provide groundworks for a major development of 2,450 homes over three villages in Kingsbrook, Aylesbury Vale. In partnership with RSPB, Barratt David Wilson aim to pioneer the concept of nature-friendly housing developments.

We started work on the site in May 2018, finishing a part-installed single carriageway, Stock Lake Link Road. Under the strategic planning, the road will improve the already challenging traffic conditions through Aylesbury town, whilst providing an important transport link for the residents of the new development.

The next phase of the transport infrastructure works begun on the 1st of July of 2019. This was to deliver the complete Eastern Link Road, connecting the development to the A418, a major thoroughfare from Milton Keynes. A signalised junction is to be installed off of the new carriageway to enable the new connection to the A418. An estate road network will be built to support bus links and other traffic throughout the development.

On 6th of January 2019, we also commenced the groundworks to Village 3, The Canal Quarter. As well as the standard foundations, private drainage, floor slabs and external works, we also completed the strategic private road and sewer network.

Project Challenges

As this development lies within a flood plain, the new road network needed elevating to protect it from flooding. In order to generate the material required to raise the roads a borrow pit strategy was implemented. This required the recovery of 60,000m3 of suitable fill material from the flood plain areas which was hauled and placed into the road footprint. The residual excavations were then developed in to permanent feature ponds and lakes for use by the RSPB reserve. The geology of the existing ground presented further engineering challenges as the top layer of subsoil was unsuitable for road construction. To overcome this we worked closely with BDW’s appointed engineers to implement a systematic testing regime that minimised the amount of unsuitable material that had to be removed.

Project Outcome

With the works still progressing on site, the collaborative approach to date has ensured that the project is on programme and on course for a successful outcome.