Castle Cement wins £3 million cement contract

Castle Cement, a division of Hanson UK, reported that it has won a £3 million contract to supply Portland cement from its Ketton works to Balfour Beatty as part of the UK Government's £371 million A3 improvement scheme at Hindhead in Surrey.

The cement is being used to produce shotcrete, which is used as the structural lining within a 1.8 km twin-bore tunnel under the Devil's Punch Bowl, a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Shotcrete is a process in which concrete is shot under pressure from a gun onto a surface to form structural shapes, such as walls, floors and roofs. Ketton-produced cement is particularly good for this type of work.

The 6.7 km long improvement of the remaining single carriageway section of the A3 between London and Portsmouth into a dual carriageway is due for completion in 2011. On completion the tunnel will be the longest non-estuarial tunnel in the United Kingdom.