Encon’s Bridgwater Gateway civil engineering infrastructure project involved the construction of 600m of private roads, and provided the key infrastructure for the 100-acre mixed-use business park. Bridgwater Gateway is the M5 corridor’s newest business park development, combining high specification new office and industrial space with hotel and local facilities, in a landscaped environment.

The drone footage shows the vast scale of the Bridgwater Gateway business park, and also the superb setting which combines views across the Quantock Hills Area of Natural Beauty with a strategic position for access to Junction 24 of the M5 motorway.

The Project Team carried out an excellent job, on a complex project. This included an extensive archaeological strip prior to commencement of the main works working alongside Oxford Archaeology, during which Bronze age settlements and burial sites were found. Works consisted of the construction of new access roads, together with associated drainage and site services installations, working closely with the ecologists for the protection of badgers and water voles.

The project required various elements of work, included: Extensive archaeological strip prior to the commencement of works; Demolition of existing property; Site preparation; Major bulk earthworks including excavation of attenuation pond; Construction of access track for Wessex Water pumping station consisting of earth works within a peat bog; Ground stabilisation to the subformation after completion of the (up to 4.5 metres deep); Approximately 600m of flexible pavement construction with footpaths and cycle paths (coloured surface course); Trench excavation and reinstatement; Statutory Undertakers works – Installation of services in readiness for the development such as gas including governor and compound, water, electricity and substations, BT network, and gas pipes with governor; Street lighting and signage; Fencing and landscaping.

All surplus excavated material was reused on site to reduce the environmental impact and costs of removal, and CBR testing was carried out to aid in reduction of the capping thickness, which gave a reduced cost to the client.