5th December 2006 - SOUTH WALES TRUNK ROAD AGENCY
Tarmac has recently won a two-year plus framework contract to manage and maintain part of the road network for the newly formed South Wales Trunk Road Agency (SWTRA). The partnership will see Tarmac, SWTRA and its agents Carmarthen County Council and Pembrokeshire County Council working together to plan, maintain and improve the road system for the Welsh Assembly Government.
Tarmac will manage all trunk road construction and maintenance work on the western side of the SWTRA area, which covers roads from the M4 in the East, to Fishguard and Pembroke in the West. The South Wales road network is split into three areas; West, Central and East, with each 'zone' expected to complete approximately £3million worth of road maintenance each year.
Since the contract was awarded in April 2006, Tarmac has worked with SWTRA and its agents to ensure the effective delivery of its planned maintenance programme. To date, this has resulted in the completion of approximately £2million worth of maintenance work, with Tarmac anticipating that another £2million of work will be carried out before the end of the financial year in March 2007.
Mike McAndrew, general manager of Tarmac National Contracting comments:
“Over the past six years, we have secured tenders for the majority of resurfacing work in the western area of South Wales. This new contract means we will be involved with the complete project, right from the early planning & design stages, which will enable us to draw together the experience of all parties to ensure the best solution for the contractor, client and road user.
"Early discussions about the innovation, safety and construction of each project should allow improved continuity and efficiency. Tarmac's experience in handling major projects for organisations and businesses like SWTRA means that we can be trusted to deliver improved value for money and minimal road network disruption.
"We hope this will be a long term partnership between all parties providing a high quality product for the end user and regular work for Tarmac's local management and workforce, as well as an outlet for our materials and products."
So far, Tarmac's major projects with SWTRA include a major maintenance and town centre enhancement on the A40 and A487 in Fishguard. Working in partnership with Pembrokeshire County Council and its design partner WS Atkins, Tarmac programmed a 24 week contract which aimed to minimise disruption for local shops, businesses, road users and pedestrians in the run up to the festive season. The contract has involved a number of sensitive road closures to allow the works to be carried out speedily and safely for road workers and the general public. This has necessitated regular communication with partners and re-programming of the scheme as it progresses to meet the client’s changing needs.
The scheme includes road resurfacing, kerbing, footway repair, maintenance work and road marking installation along these two busy routes. The main works on the scheme involve Tarmac's contract team planning out the existing road surfaces to a depth of 240 mm before laying a heavy duty base, binder course and Tarmac's Hapas approved 6mm Masterflex surface, selected to provide a quiet surface for the local residents.
Tarmac has also recently completed an £800,000 resurfacing project on two sections of the A40 between Pont Lesneven Roundabout, Carmarthen and Meidrim junction. Other resurfacing programmes include the A40 St Clears Roundabout, A477 Backe Road, A467, A483 Coopers Junction, A483 Cilyrychen and A483 Mckays Llandybie. All schemes have been supplied with coated material using 68psv aggregate from Tarmac’s newly acquired Bwlch Ffos quarry. This material is transferred for coating to Tarmac’s local supply outlets at Torcoed, Cross Hands and Cornelly, Bridgend.
