Swansea’s new multi-million pound bus station is an award-winner even before the first bus pulls in.
The redevelopment of the old Quadrant bus station is underway in the city centre and has recently picked up a top award for the environmental efforts made during construction.
Constructing Excellence in Wales gave the Waste Minimisation Award to the Quadrant at the annual 2010 Constructing Excellence in Wales Awards which took place at the SWALEC Stadium.
Swansea Council is behind the redevelopment and has enlisted contractors Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd and Dawnus Construction Ltd to help build the new transport facility.
The award recognised that during the demolition phase of the redevelopment about 25,000 tonnes of material removed from the site was reprocessed and reused on site and at other sites instead of it being dumped in landfill.
Cllr John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment in Swansea Council, said: “An important part of the design of our new bus station is to incorporate sustainable measures in the development and the day-to-day operation of the new facility.
“When completed, the new bus station will be an excellent example of a modern and sustainable landmark building which Swansea can be proud of.
“The new bus station will be a huge asset for the city and will help improve public transport for passengers.”
Russell Evans, Director of Dawnus Construction, said: “We are delighted to have won the Waste Minimisation Award.
“Waste and sustainability are important issues in the construction industry and as a company we’re committed to improving our performance.
“We’re very pleased to have had our efforts recognised and we plan to use our experience on the Swansea Quadrant Interchange to achieve similar results on future projects.”
Neal Stephens, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon, said: “It’s a fantastic achievement that Quadrant has achieved this award at this stage in construction. The construction phase has been designed to be as sustainable as possible with minimal impact on the environment through a range of measures which will follow through into the operation of the building.
“Willmott Dixon has strong green credentials including our aim to send zero waste to landfill and be carbon neutral by 2012. We’re delighted to bring our expertise and experience to benefit projects such as Quadrant which will have a visible benefit to the local community.”
When completed the new station will house 20 bus bays, three coach stands, a modern passenger waiting area, ticketing services and Shopmobility facilities.
The project has received significant funding from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Wales European Funding Office.