Extensive low-carbon resurfacing work completed on A30
Surfacing trial on England’s best road successfully completed by Holcim UK and Tripod Crest
AN extensive major low-carbon surfacing trial has been successfully delivered on the A30 through a partnership between two industry-leading highways specialists, as part of National Highways’ demonstration funding scheme.
The completion comes as the road, which is known as the link to the South West, has topped this year’s Strategic Road User Survey, which ranks England’s major roads based on overall satisfaction according to UK road users.
Resurfacing work on the 12km stretch between Shallowater to Colliford was completed on 24 July 2025, following extensive research and development work on new asphalt mixtures, drawing on a long-standing partnership between Holcim UK and highways contractors Tripod Crest.
The trial used a two-layer asphalt system consisting of a 40mm surface course and a 60mm binder course to achieve its major low-carbon accreditation.
Holcim UK’s specially designed surface course featured between 2,500 and 2,600 tonnes of their SuperCurve asphalt, which incorporated a long-life, and high-grade polymer-modified bitumen. This next generation asphalt aligns with National Highways’ latest standards and specifications, which focus on durability and making roads last longer.
The binder course used 400 tonnes of Holcim UK’s SuperLow Carbon asphalt, which incorporates the latest bio-component bitumen, reducing the carbon footprint by around 20% against traditional warm-mix asphalts.
The asphalts were expertly laid by F&T Goodwin – part of the Tripod Crest Group. Working for National Highways on the Pavement Delivery Framework, Tripod Crest were appointed as principal contractor, and worked in collaboration with Holcim’s technical and manufacturing teams to deliver these innovative trials.
Completion of the road comes shortly after the publication of the latest Transport For Focus annual Strategic Road User Survey, where the A30 came out top with the highest level of overall satisfaction reported by road users. The survey of more than 9,000 road users helps National Highways to make targeted investments aimed at improving experiences for UK drivers.
Praising the collaboration, Adam Vasey, commercial director at F&T Goodwin, said: ‘This project has been a partnership to be proud of for both Tripod Crest and Holcim UK. Our teams have worked tirelessly to make sure the project ran as planned and to schedule, and with an ongoing convoy in progress, that is no easy feat.
‘Tripod Crest’s machinery helped speed up the laying process thanks to our state-of-the-art HAM HD 90 roller which aids in density testing and allows for accurate installation. We also carried out HVO fuel testing to ensure our machinery aligned with the wider carbon reduction initiatives of the project.’
Neil Leake, national technical manager for contracting at Holcim UK, said: ‘The A30 project has allowed us to show what the future of low-carbon roads in the UK looks like in action. Not only this, but it has also been a fantastic opportunity for us to cross-collaborate with our trusted installer, Tripod Crest.
‘The purpose of this trial as part of National Highways demonstration funding scheme is to show the capabilities of our low-carbon and long-life asphalt, and how it can transform the way we build roads for the better. Not only has this been achieved through fantastic communication and partnership, but UK road users have voted the stretch of road as the most satisfying to drive on in the UK – which is another great accolade.
‘This project shows what’s possible when innovation meets collaboration, and this is just the beginning.’
Angela Halliwell, National Highways’ head of carbon and air quality, said: ‘We’re changing the way we work to decarbonize construction on our roads, a crucial challenge of helping the UK to thrive as a low-carbon economy.
‘National Highways have ambitious plans, backed by science, to decarbonize our corporate activities by 2030, to achieve net zero across our maintenance and construction activities by 2040 and across our whole network by 2050.
‘Our supply chain contains world-class talent and innovation and our message to our suppliers is clear: we are seeking your best ideas so we can scale up to meet the decarbonization challenge. Our Low Carbon Demonstrator fund is helping make these possible and later this year we are updating our standards to embed low-carbon innovations in our work.
‘Together with our supply chain partners, we’re taking positive steps towards a more sustainable future. Projects like this will pave the way for industry-wide changes, resulting in significant carbon savings, improved roads for drivers, and quieter roadworks for our neighbours.’
This year marks successive contributions to the UK’s best road from Holcim UK after the highways contracting specialist successfully resurfaced a stretch of North Yorkshire’s A19 – the road ranked top of the National Highways Survey in 2024.
