Legato blocks create safe road-salt storage at Hilton Park Services

Elite Precast Concrete were approached by Midlands-based contractor Currall, Lewis and Martin (Construction) Ltd (CLM) to provide their high strength interlocking Legato blocks as part of the Salt Barn refurbishment project being carried out by Kier Construction on behalf of the Highways Authority.

The Legato blocks were to be used to line the walls of the salt barn, creating additional safe storage for the road salt which is kept on hand for gritting during the winter months.

Key elements of the project included the difficult access into the building, the fact that the building floor was sloping, and the issue of there being thousands of tonnes of salt already stored in the building.

CLM took on the task of casting level plinths onto which the blocks could be placed, and organised the timing of installation of the blocks by making sure the salt already stored in the barn was moved over to one side.

The off-loading and installing of the blocks was contracted to the specialist lifting and contracting business owned and operated by Andy Fones — AA Installations. Andy has many years of experience of operating at the highest level of safety standard whilst completing some of the most challenging lifting, placing and installing projects involving heavy precast concrete elements.

By close liaison between CLM, AA Installations and Elite Precast Concrete the blocks were safely installed in two parts — one side of the salt barn and then the other — ensuring minimal disruption to the day-to-day running of the facility at Hilton Park.

Elite Precast Concrete carry large stocks of their high strength Legato blocks, so AA Installations were able to order them straight 'off-the-shelf'. The fact that the blocks are designed to a minimum 100 year working life means the client will have the benefit of the newly refurbished salt barn as part of their annual challenge of keeping the motorways open during the winter months for many years to come.