Edinburgh Trams are bedded down with Sika Concrete

Sika, in partnership with Hanson Concrete, has designed a concrete mix for the track beds on the Princes Street section of the Edinburgh Tramways project.

The Edinburgh Tramways project is presently being constructed from Gogar to Newhaven as part of an initiative by Transport Initiative Edinburgh (TIE) to reduce Edinburgh's on-going traffic congestion problems.

A good strong, flat surface is an essential requirement on which to lay the tracks with no voids between the track and the concrete bed.

To achieve this in Princes Street, the tracks are first laid on specially designed concrete and steel ties, in an elevated position so that concrete can be poured under and around the ties to form the bed.

Sika Viscocrete 15RM admixture is incorporated in the mix design to give good flow with extended workability to the concrete coupled with high strength and low bleed.

This system ensures all criteria are met for the track bed and ensures the future integrity of the tramway.

Hanson Concrete is supplying around 3,000m3 of the concrete to MacKenzie Construction who are carrying out civil engineering works on behalf of the main contractor Bilfinger Berger.

When complete, the project will be part of an integrated transport system, reducing the number of cars and buses in the city centre.

This in turn will reduce both noise and pollution whilst improving journey times.

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