Somerset Council wins national award for M5 motorway project

Somerset Council and its contractor, Heidelberg Materials, have won the ‘Small Project of the Year’ award (for schemes under £10 million) at the national Highways Awards in London. The recognition follows the successful delivery of the M5 Junction 26 Chelston Link project.

The £5.7 million project involved renewing aging infrastructure originally built in 1974. The team completed the works approximately one week ahead of schedule by accelerating the construction programme from seven months to four.

A notable aspect of the project was the use of ‘rubblisation,’ a technique that recycled approximately 7,300 tonnes of existing concrete to serve as the road’s sub-base. This method was utilized to reduce carbon emissions and minimize the number of required lorry movements on site.