A PROJECT designed to stabilise the slope and ground of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road is still ongoing - more than a year and a half later.

It is all part of the planned dualling scheme for the trunk road, one of the biggest road projects in Wales still going ahead. 

The project is delivering results for two Welsh companies working on the scheme. The stabilising project is being delivered by Quantum Geotechnic and Spencer ECA, part of the RSK Group.

According to the managing director of Spencer Quantum, Ross McDermott, the firm was originally given a six-week piece of work on the scheme but after delivering that successfully it has grown into a longer-lasting contract across the wider project.

The work, now entering its 20th month, is part of the longest ongoing infrastructure development for the Welsh Government.

Quantum Geotechnic and Spencer ECA, part of the RSK Group, is continuing to deliver the project.

Mr McDermott said: “The teams have done, and continue to do, an excellent job in executing this project, making use of a combination of in-house heavy plant supplied by Spencer ECA and Quantum’s soil nailing and rock bolting drilling masts. The soil nailing works are set to continue late into 2023.

“What started out as a six-week initial project has evolved into an ongoing one for more than 18 months, delivering works across the length and breadth of the site, which is a testament to the relationship our teams have forged with the client, having built a mutual trust, and demonstrates our reliability, versatility, and adaptability in a challenging environment.”

Quantum Geotechnic also completed a ground investigation project for Torfaen County Borough Council in South Wales earlier this year.

The project at the former industrial site The British lasted 15 weeks and cost £1.57 million. 

Mr McDermott said of this earlier project: "In consideration of the complex underground mine drainage system, this ground investigation was designed to assist in mapping this mine network and to ultimately contribute to the design of mine drainage improvements."

Editor's note: This article has been updated to remove a statement that the work was originally planned to last just six weeks. Six weeks was in fact how long the initial involvement of contractor Quantum Geotechnic and Spencer ECA was due to be, but it then had its contract extended into a bigger piece of work.