Local contractor Barnwood Construction is building a Wm Morrison’s supermarket on an old railway site that has been derelict for 30 years.
Essex-based specialist Geofirma has been subcontracted to stabilise the soil on the 25,000 square metre site.
Soil samples have been taken and analysed at Geofirma’s in-house UKAS-approved laboratories, enabling the development of a bespoke lime and cement stabilisation mix. This will be introduced to the soil via the company’s Firmafil and Firmabase techniques.
This process will bring the soil up to the strength and stability required for structural fill and capping/sub-base layers, engineers say, eliminating the need to import good fill and dramatically reducing the requirement for stone.
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According to Geofirma, on-site soil stabilisation has changed the face of site preparation throughout the building and civil engineering industries. It is a quicker and more cost effective method than traditional techniques based on the disposal and import of materials to make a construction site fit for purpose, the company says.
Geofirma general manager Steve Dunn said: “Our assessments showed that this site was ideal for on-site soil stabilisation which is very much our field of expertise. In addition to being a quicker and cheaper method, this route also has environmental benefits by reducing the amount of materials going to landfill and the number of truck movements to and from the site.”
Geofirma has deployed a team of eight to its £250,000 Gloucester contract along with a fleet of soil engineering equipment to ensure the stabilisation works are delivered in just eight weeks.
The equipment includes a Wirtgen WR 2500 cold recycling machine with integrated spreading hoppers to suppress dust as the site is close to operational rail and roads.
Barnwood Construction’s contracts manager Adam Welland added: “We have been very pleased with the ground engineering solution Geofirma has developed for us on this site and I am even more pleased that they have worked with my site team to complete the ground engineering in such a manner that has allowed other trades to progress on site despite the poor weather which has been of tremendous benefit given the restricted timescales of the overall project programme.”
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