Construction work is proceeding to schedule at Covanta’s Rookery South incinerator site at Stewartby.
All structural steel work has been completed. The project’s principal contractor, Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has also completed the installation of the facility’s stacks.
Internal fitting out continues and in the next few months the facility’s visitor and education centre will be designed.
Jack Stitt, Project Manager for Covanta explained: “I’m very proud of all construction personnel at the Rookery South site for redoubling their commitment to health and safety in a time of Covid-19.
“Their extraordinary efforts have enabled this complex build phase to safely remain on schedule throughout 2020. In 2021 we will complete the construction phase and move forward into testing and commissioning of all areas of the energy recovery facility to ensure each component is working as it should.
“With construction work progressing on-schedule, we have begun recruitment for over 50 new permanent operational positions at the Rookery South facility.”
Ian Judd, Rookery South’s new Facility Manager, explained more: “We’ve launched a Bedfordshire-wide recruitment campaign to fill a range of new operational and maintenance roles as we start to grow the Rookery South’s operations team.
“We hope that people locally with the right skills will apply, and to assist this we’re working with Bedfordshire’s local authorities and Jobcentre Plus to promote these excellent opportunities. Further roles at the Rookery South facility will be advertised in the coming months and these will also be posted on the project website at www.rookerysouth.co.uk.”
Other work has also taken place outside the main construction site in recent months, including the project-funded upgrade of the Stewartby level crossing by Network Rail. The upgraded crossing now offers an improved level of protection for all road users and pedestrians.
Looking ahead, the project team and Bedford Borough Council have been working to finalise plans to improve the safety and vehicle visibility at the Green Lane / C94 (Bedford Road / Woburn Road) T-junction. The intention is for these works to be completed early in 2021 under a combination of partial and full road closures to minimise the overall duration of the works and maintain safety for all road users and construction workers.
The scheme will also involve a reduction in the speed limit on part of the C94 to 50mph to further enhance road safety at this important junction.
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