Construction and traffic

If you think that a wind farm is only about a few majestic looking towers, blades rotating gently in the breeze, you are seriously underestimating the impact of the construction phase.  Those of us who live in rural communities mutter quietly when our roads are covered in straw and our cars with dust during harvest and at the abundance of mud on roads when ploughing is being done post harvest, but we can identify the tractor drivers who are working round the clock for perhaps a couple of weeks and we are sympathetic to the problems they face.  We also accept that our villages grew initially because of farming, and any inconvenience is very brief.  It also pales into insignificance when compared to the impact that construction of a wind farm has on the surrounding communities. 

The environmental statement for the Harrington Wind Farm has a section on Traffic and Transport.  It says that “The major construction traffic will access the site via the A14 Junction 3 and the B576 [the Rothwell to Lamport Road] to access the site.  During the construction phase there will be the need to move substantial quantities of materials and equipment to and from the development site using AILs [Abnormal Indivisible Load]  and HGVs.  To facilitate this, carriageway widening works at junctions or along links will be required to accommodate the turning movements of these vehicles.”  The B576 will need to be widened at various points to allow for turning the AIL vehicles and temporary passing points will be required to allow vehicles travelling in the opposite direction to the AILs to wait whilst a vehicle carrying an abnormal load is in transit.  Over a 9 month construction period it is anticipated that there will be 84 one-way AID vehicle movements; 1,715 HGV movements; and 2,580 light commercial and car movements, a total of 4,379 trips. 

• a control building (10m x 20m x 4m high with 15m x 25m hardstanding);
• a meteorological monitoring mast erected to hub height;
• on site access tracks to each turbine all of which would be 6 m wide;
• temporary crane pads, one for each turbine, measuring 20m x 40m;
• temporary construction compound (100m x 100m) to house equipment, materials, site office, toilets and messing facility;
• underground electrical cabling; and
• turbine foundations, 17m diameter, each requiring 567m³ of concrete requiring an estimated total of 3972m³ of concrete.  We calculate that that will require 500 cement lorry loads (imagine them lined up end to end!);
• plant will include two cranes, bulldozers, dumper trucks, rollers, excavators, motorised generators and hand held equipment.  You should also note that if foundations need to be piled then pile driving equipment will also be required.

Excavation for the base of one turbine

The construction phase is anticipated to be 9 - 12 months and consists of the following activities:

• • Formation of site compound including hard standing and temporary site office facilities;
  • Upgrading of existing tracks and construction of new access tracks and passing places inter-linking
  • the turbine locations, control building and substation;
  • Minor works to create suitable geometry at the main access into the site;
  • Construction of crane hard-standing areas to facilitate erection of turbines;
  • Construction of culverts under roads to facilitate drainage and maintain existing hydrology;
  • Construction of turbine foundations;
  • Construction of site control building;
  • Construction of met mast foundation;
  • Excavation of trenches and cable laying adjacent to site roads;
  • Connection of on-site distribution and signal cables;
  • Delivery and erection of wind turbines;
  • Delivery and erection of permanent meteorological mast;
  • Commissioning of site equipment;
  • Site restoration.

Construction hours will be between 07:00 - 19:00 on week days, and 07:00 - 16:00 on Saturdays but with what are termed quiet onsite working activities outside these times where required and with work outside these hours in “exceptional circumstances”.

The main transportation impacts will relate to Heavy Goods Vehicles to and from the site during the construction phase of the development with an estimated average of 29 trips per day. 

Sections of a single turbine tower being transported

The number of return trips is expected to total 4,379, with work commencing at 7 am and going on until 7 pm, 5 days per week, and 7 am to 4 pm on Saturdays.