JCB excavators delivering major road project close to home

Earthmoving specialist JC Balls & Sons is working for a Carillion-Tarmac joint venture on the A50 Growth Corridor Project A - part of the National Infrastructure Plan – constructing a grade-separated junction on the A50 dual carriageway to the west of Uttoxeter.

And the company is operating a mixed fleet of equipment on the project, including three 22-tonne JCB JS220 crawler excavators, a 36-tonne JS370 and a wheeled JS175W – all manufactured at the neighbouring JCB Heavy Products factory. Other JCB machinery being used includes a 57C-1 compact excavator, a JCB 718 articulated dump truck and a JCB VM115 soil compactor.

One of the JS220 excavators has been bought specifically for the A50 project by long-standing JCB customer JC Balls & Sons, of Ambergate, Belper, a company which was founded in 1963 with a single JCB 3 backhoe loader model.

JCB Heavy Products managing director Buta Atwal said: “It is fantastic to see JCB excavators at work on our doorstep. There is huge pride across the workforce seeing machines manufactured here at JCB Heavy Products at work every day on a high profile project which is bringing huge benefits to the area.”

Since its formation, JC Balls & Sons has grown into one of the East Midlands' leading plant hire and contracting businesses. Specialising in earthmoving and bulk excavations, the company employs over 100 people and operates a fleet of over 50 machines and 30 lorries.

JC Balls & Sons’ contracts manager Dane Potts said: “Around 90% of our machinery on the project is equipped with GPS machine control and we have found that it can cut the time on site almost by half. We have a longstanding relationship with JCB and we continue to be impressed by the equipment. The earthworks aspect is a major part of the A50 project and we’ve worked closely with Carillion to develop the most effective earthworks strategy. We are proud to be heavily involved in such a prestigious Midlands project.”

The Tarmac-Carillion joint venture is working on Project A of the A50 Growth Corridor scheme near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Project managed by Amey, the scheme is creating three new roundabouts, two to the south and one to the north of the A50 dual carriageway. These will be joined by a new bridge structure and there will be extended slip roads to ease congestion on this busy trunk road. The project will provide improved access to a housing development and to new employment sites to the west of Uttoxeter.

Six 47 mete long steel bridge beams were lifted into place across the A50 in July, resting on piers that have been constructed using 210,000 tonnes of pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from the nearby Rugeley Power Station. Around 30,000 cubic metres of existing material has been stabilised with the addition of lime, to provide increased structural properties and to reduce the amount of soil that has had to be taken from the site.

The project is expected to be completed by November 2018, when it will provide improved access and reduced congestion to this busy cross-country trunk road.