i54 motorway access scheme reaches critical phase
CONSTRUCTION of a dedicated motorway junction serving the new i54 business park in South Staffordshire has reached a major milestone.
A 500-tonne section of new bridge has been moved into place to extend junction 2 of the M54 and provide direct access into the site, which is the base for Jaguar Land Rover’s new £0.5bn engine plant.
Staffordshire County Council is leading the unique civil engineering project – the first time a local authority has built a dedicated motorway junction for a business site. The 45-metre bridge is made with steel beams with a concrete deck and has been built on site. It was installed on wheeled transporter units, which carried the bridge deck along the motorway before lowering it onto the bridge supports. A section of the motorway was closed overnight while the work was carried out.
Work will now take place to complete the access and canal bridges which will allow the embankments to be completed on either side of the motorway. The new junction is scheduled to be completed by September this year.
The i54 site, which is part of the part of the Black Country Enterprise Zone, is a key business hub and in addition to JLR’s new plant it will be home to a new facility for International Security Printers. Two companies are already operating on site – Moog, which manufactures flight control systems for civil and military aircraft, employing 400 skilled employees and Eurofins, a leading scientific testing and analysis company, where 150 more people work.
Staffordshire’s economy and infrastructure leader, Cllr Mark Winnington said: “Work is progressing well on the new junction and the bridge installation marks a major step forward for the scheme.
“Having a dedicated junction for the i54 South Staffordshire site has been one of the draws for leading businesses and so we’re pleased to see it developing.”
The i54 site is a partnership between Staffordshire County Council, South Staffordshire Council and Wolverhampton City Council. The junction work is being carried out by the county council’s contractor Balfour Beatty.
