KKB Group were appointed to carry out an enabling works package to develop a disused brick works in Bedford into a new Open Cycle Gas Turbine power plant for Drax.
The 20-acre site at Rookery South Pit had previously been used for clay extraction by Stewartby Brickworks until closure in 2008.
The earthworks involved the cut and fill of 160,000 cubic metres of Class 2 Soils within the 180,000 sqm site in engineered layers to form profiled levels across the site along with the regrading of the site's boundary embankment slopes.
A 42,000 sqm working platform was constructed utilising the site recovered soils, these soils were placed and compacted in engineered layers to form a 1:100 fall to the new V-Ditches then overlaid with a geogrid and 22,000 tonnes of imported primary Type 1 stone from a local source.
We excavated 600 metres of V-ditches complete with culverts and headwalls to enable us to install:
- 200-metre new internal surfaced road for access from the existing Covanta road to the working platform for the proposed Gas Turbine
- 500 metres of new water mains from the existing Anglia Water connection, varying diameters including Sluice Valves, pressure testing and chlorination for supply of water to the proposed Gas Turbine
- 150 metres of land filter drainage including wrapped perforated pipe and manholes (up to 4m deep) to collect water from the large slope embankments and discharge into the newly created V-Ditches
- 200 metres of land filter drainage including wrapped perforated pipe and manholes (upto 4m deep) to collect surface water from the new access road and discharge into the newly created V-Ditches
- 500 meters of ducting for fibre/BT cabling to the proposed Gas Turbine