Derbyshire’s Infrastructure Boom
The highly anticipated House of the Dragon- a prequel to George R.R. Martin’s popular, Game of Thrones, is shot in beautiful locations much like its predecessor.
Much of the House of the Dragon filming took place in the Peak District of Derbyshire. Its main city, Castleton, is located in the southern end of the Pennine mountain chain, roughly between Manchester and Sheffield.
Picture courtesy of BBC News
The area is home to the Peak District National Park, which boasts breathtaking views of contrasting landscapes and 3 high standing peaks – Dark Peak, White Peak and South West Peak. The park is the United Kingdom’s original national park and a treasured landscape for its natural beauty, shaped by the influence of people and nature for over 10,000 years.
Derbyshire, like many other areas around the world was hit hard by the 2020 pandemic. They plan to bounce back with their £570 million construction regeneration program. According to the Derbyshire City Council, thirteen of fifty projects are set to begin in 2022.
Projects already underway include:
The Ashbourne Airfield Expansion (£6 million)
Creating a new roundabout on A52 and link road into an industrial estate. The roundabout will also open up land for employment and housing.
The Hollis Lane Link Road Phase I (£10.8 million)
The project includes construction of a new road into Chesterfield Station.
The Fairfield/Hogshaw Enabling Infrastructure (£2.4 million)
The project will provide a new roundabout and access to a housing development in the area of Buxton as well as provide a section of the White Peak Look cycle trail.
Projects currently being prepared:
Chesterfield-Staveley Regeneration Route (£125 million)
The job includes the reclamation and construction of a 3.7 mile road to connect Chesterfield and Staveley. Additionally, the project will open up land and jobs for housing.
South Derby Growth Zone (£55 million)
The project includes highway infrastructure to support commercial development and housing.
Elvaston Castle (£35 million)
The Elvaston Castle Estate will be redeveloped to make it commercially viable and increase visitor numbers.
Ashbourned Relief Road (£20 million)
A new road will be built to ease congestion on the current road network.
Access to Shirebrook (£50 million)
The project will explore ways to improve connections between Shirebrook and other locations. It will also include major transport corridors such as the M1 Motorway, supporting its ability to attract investment.
Swarkestone Causeway (£50 million)
The project will solve the problem of a major road crossing over a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Staveley Town Deal Investment Plan (£25 million)
A three project plan to include new commercial/retail/leisure facilities at Staveley Basin and the town centre. The improvements also include support for the Wheels to Work Scheme and the reopening of the Barrow Hill Rail Line.
Long Eaton Town Deal Investment Plan (£25 million)
A two project plan that includes a new roundabout at Derby Road Junction/The Green and improvements on High Street.
Connecting Chesterfield (£20 million)
A project to improve the town center.
East Midland Freeport (£25 million)
The project will provide the UK’s only inland Freeport to bring jobs, investments and prosperity to the area.
With both House of the Dragon shining a spotlight on the beauty of Derbyshire and the area’s incredible infrastructure program, it is sure to see an increase in visitors in the near future. The new jobs alone will surely bring more people to its towns and cities. Construction always finds a way of providing incredible support for the people around it.
Like all construction projects, a great amount of testing goes into the initial phases before the build. The products shown below include just some of the equipment used to test at these sites.
Core Drill Rig
Options: Core Drill Rig with Vacuum
Concrete Pressure Air Meter (ACM)
ASTM C231 & AASHTO T-152
The type B concrete pressure air meter measures entrained air in normal weight fresh mixed concrete. The AR-B air meter is one of the most precise measuring devices available.
CoreDryPRO™
ASTM D7227; AASHTO PP75
The CoreDry is an automatic system for rapid drying of compacted laboratory and field asphalt samples. Used to remove moisture from asphalt cores in a fraction of the time of ovens or fans.
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