Triton Secures Contract To Provide Underground Infrastructure For Leeds’ New Multi Million Pound Pathology Lab
Triton Construction has secured a critical contract to deliver full below ground civils enabling and infrastructure works for a new state of the art pathology laboratory at St James’s Hospital, Leeds.
The contract comprises large below ground pre-cast concrete ductways and cast in situ re-enforced transitions to existing service tunnels, all on a very busy live hospital site requiring very close co-ordination with the Hospital Trust and other contractors working in the same vicinity.
The works are the pre-cursor for the new multi-million-pound Pathology building, being delivered by main contractor, BAM Construction, that will support hospitals across the region to improve diagnostics for patients and help to meet the growing regional demand for specialist treatment and care.
In February the laboratory, which will also serve hospitals in West Yorkshire and Harrogate, was given the go ahead by the Department of Health and Social Care, which allowed construction to start in April.
The new building is expected to be operational in the autumn of 2023 and will allow the Trust to incorporate pathology services currently housed in outdated facilities in the Old Medical School at LGI as well as some of those delivered from St James’s University Hospital.
Triton moved on site last month to start works in providing serviceable underground routes from the existing Gledhow building to the new laboratory. The route will house high voltage power cables and pneumatic ducts that will send samples from one building to another.
Paul Clarkson, Managing Director at Triton Construction, said: “This is a specialist project for which we are highly experienced to deliver. Our team is creating a 4m wide, 1.8m deep underground network of below ground systems that can connect to existing provisions and includes the installation of around 190 ducts covering 200 metres each pre-cast segment weighing over 2 tonnes. We are also installing robust traffic management measures during the course of the project due to high footfall and vehicle movements.”
Mike Bacon, Programme Director for the Building the Leeds Way Programme – which also includes the construction of new adults’ and children’s hospitals at Leeds General Infirmary – said: “The works are a critical infrastructure element for preparing the site for the new pathology laboratory.
“Seeing the contractors moving onto the site to start works for the building of the new laboratory at St James’s Hospital is a real boost for everyone and the beginning of exciting times in the development of healthcare for Leeds and the wider region.”
Triton Construction is a £65 million turnover company providing design and build, civils, fit out and refurbishment services. Established for more than 16 years it employed over 80 people across offices in the Northwest and Yorkshire.
The company has considerable expertise and credentials in highly specialist laboratory installations with recent projects including a new fuel testing laboratory, advanced NDT, meta preparation, SEM and microscope rooms for scientific marine consultancy Brookes Bell LLP and a £1.5 million contract to build a new testing facility for British institution and gear engine pioneer David Brown Santasalo.
