Bridge Demolition On The UK’s Busiest Motorway!

In partnership with Balfour Beatty, Clarke Demolition Company (part of the Tru7 Group) undertook the demolition of Clearmount Bridge for National Highways between Junctions 10 and 11 of the M25, on Friday 15^th through to the early hours of Sunday 17^th March. This was the first-ever planned closure of the M25 since its completion in October 1986 and garnered significant public interest, due to the perceived negative impact on the strategic road network.

The traffic management and media comms were extremely effective and reduced the traffic flow on the M25 significantly, allowing CDC to commence the demolition as planned on Friday evening.

Works consisted of the demolition of the RC bridge deck, the cutting and lifting of supporting beams to ground level for processing, and the demolition of both abutments. All concrete arisings are being processed into granular material in accordance with the circular economy principles for construction. In addition to processing arisings into construction materials, all arising steelwork has been sent for recycling; ensuring the scheme maintains its recycling and environmental objectives.

Another safe, well-planned, and well-executed project, resulted in the motorway being opened a full 8 hours ahead of the scheduled time.

Dive into our behind-the-scenes YouTube video for some raw footage of the action on the first shift below: