Work is ‘progressing well’ on the new £53m Poynton Relief Road scheme – with the first two beams for the new bridge now in place. The design and build contract for the 3km road was awarded in autumn 2019 to construction and civil engineering specialist contractor Graham, which carried out a detailed design work and site surveys. The latter included archaeological and ecological appraisals and creation of new ecological habitats before the main construction began. A recent major milestone on the project, which is due to be completed late next year, saw the lifting into place of the first two precast concrete bridge beams for the new Chester Road overbridge.  A 400-tonne crane was used to lift the 21.4m beams into position, with each weighing 38 tonnes. The operation was completed within a day and the beams will form part of the largest structure in the scheme. Key earthworks operations began in April. These must be carried out during the dry months of the year and are essential to the progress of the scheme. The ‘cut and fill’ work will involve excavation, transportation, placement and compaction of about 240,000 tonnes of material. The road is expected to open to traffic in Autumn 2022. Funding for the scheme was agreed by government earlier this year, following a successful bid by Cheshire East Council for local growth funding administered by Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. Councillor Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council and chair of the authority’s highways and transport committee, said: “It’s great to see significant progress being made on this long-awaited scheme. The council has maintained a clear vision and commitment to investing in infrastructure throughout the pandemic. This new road will improve links to Macclesfield and the surrounding area, open up some much-needed employment land and also reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality in Poynton.” Graham project manager Nick Hodder said: “Despite the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic to the project, our team has worked tirelessly with the council and our stakeholders to ensure great progress across this much-needed scheme.” “The lifting into place of the first two concrete bridge beams for the largest bridge along the route marked a major milestone of the construction phase and the team have received plenty of interest in our construction activities taking place on Chester Road. It was great to see many members of the public watching the beams being lifted into place from a safe distance.” “Earthworks recently started, with various machines now based full time on the project, performing different roles to fulfil these operations. I would like to thank the local residents and commuters for their continued patience while we deliver this important infrastructure programme.”

The long-awaited £90m Congleton link road has opened to traffic. The occasion was marked by a colourful cavalcade of more than 50 classic cars driven by local enthusiasts along the 5.5km newly named Wolstenholme Elmy Way. The procession of vehicles, which included a ‘Batmobile’, high-performance sports cars and vehiclesdating from the early part of the last century, was preceded by a small Covid-secure ribbon-cutting ceremony by the team involved in delivering the road. The route had opened to the public to walk and cycle along at the weekend before Monday’s opening to vehicles.  The road, which is the borough’s largest infrastructure project to date, is named after Congleton’s famous pioneering educationalist and campaigner for votes for women, Elizabeth Clarke Wolstenholme Elmy. The route will relieve the Cheshire East town of some of its historical traffic problems, create road space for cyclists and pedestrians and improve air quality for residents, while opening up new development opportunities for employment and housing. Despite the dual challenges of the Covid pandemic and harsh winter weather, the council’s contractor, Graham, worked hard to reduce the delays to the project, which was originally due to open late last year. The scheme has also been delivered within budget.  Frank Jordan, Cheshire East Council’s executive director for place, said: “The opening of Wolstenholme Elmy Way is a real cause for celebration and a fine achievement – not only for the council, Graham and road users but, above all, the people of Congleton. “Traffic congestion has previously restricted town centre growth, reduced inward investment and also made it a challenge to retain existing businesses. “Cheshire East Council is delighted this complex and significant project has been successfully delivered – and within budget – despite the additional challenges of two extremely wet winters and the unprecedented impact of the Covid pandemic. Coronavirus affected the schemes’ suppliers and meant contractors had to take special measures to protect workers. “Given the size and complexity of the project – and the additional challenges of the past 15 months or so – the progress made from drawing board to build completion has been astonishing. Everyone involved in this scheme should feel tremendously proud.” The new highway joins the A534 Sandbach Road to the west and the A536 Macclesfield Road to the north, opening up connectivity and improving travel between Macclesfield, Congleton and the M6.  It will release 20 hectares of new employment land with the potential to create 3,000 jobs by 2035. Mr Jordan added: “Congleton Town Council and the people of Congleton have been very supportive of this scheme and Cheshire East Council is delighted that everyone’s hard work has now come to final fruition.” Alastair Lewis, contracts manager for Graham, said: “This is a fantastic moment for the whole construction team, its partners and the local Congleton community. Despite the impact of the pandemic and some tough recent winter weather, we have been able to continue our works in a safe manner, while following government and public health guidelines, and have delivered the link road as close to the original schedule as possible – and within budget.” Cheshire East Council is contributing £24m towards the scheme with central government and developer contributions meeting the balance. Planning for the Congleton link road began back in 2012 with various routes considered by Cheshire East Council. After public consultation, a planning application was submitted in September 2015, before permission was granted the following July. The Department for Transport gave the final go-ahead for the council for their element of funding, enabling the council to acquire the land for the route in 2018, before Graham began construction in 2019. For more information visit: cheshireeast.gov.uk/congletonlinkroad or www.graham.co.uk/congleton-link-road 

Siltbuster, the leading water treatment specialist, has provided Costain with four modular treatment solutions, to be used during the delivery of the £200m Preston Western Distributor Road, linking Preston and southern Fylde to the M55 motorway. The 2.5 mile-long dual carriageway, set to open in 2023, includes a new motorway junction, four new bridges and three underpasses. The route goes past several surface watercourses, including the Savick Brook and the Lancaster Canal. With this in mind, Costain contacted Siltbuster at a very early stage in the project and tasked it with planning the water runoff management. To date, Siltbuster has deployed four water treatment systems to cover the multiple controlled watercourses where water is being released from the site. Each location is regulated by the Environment Agency, with the Environmental Permit requiring total suspended solids be less than 100mg/l and a pH value between pH6 and pH9 to be achieved consistently. In order to protect the north west’s aquatic ecosystems and habitats, each Siltbuster unit needed to be capable of treating flows of up to 40m3/hr. To deliver this, all of the systems include two-stage flow proportional chemical dosing of coagulant and flocculant to improve the settlement rates of the very fine suspended clay solids, and an 8m3 tank complete with mixers and a HB50 lamella clarifier. The modular nature of these solutions means additional capacity can easily be added should the coming wet season create greater volumes of water needing to be treated. Karl Heath, Environmental Manager at Costain, comments on its water treatment approach: “We’ve been managing the water on site throughout the project starting with basic settling techniques. By engaging Siltbuster early in the process we could make sure we were ready to deploy more advanced systems when it became necessary at the end of the summer, in preparation for the wet season and the consequent increased surface water runoff. The Siltbuster systems have helped keep the project on track by ensuring we are in line with our environmental permit at all times, protecting the surrounding habitats as vigilantly as possible.” James Baylis, Regional Technical Sales Engineer at Siltbuster, concludes: “It is to Costain’s credit that it consulted with us early in the planning stages of the project. We were able to advise on temporary flexible modular solutions which could be rapidly deployed from our hire fleet as soon as the need arose. As part of our service, we have also offered Costain specialist technical advice and training, helping to protect the aquatic ecosystems around the project.” For more information about Siltbuster, visit www.siltbuster.com or call 01600 772256.

Work has now begun on the long-awaited £53m Poynton Relief Road. Local residents have welcomed the news, which following decades of campaigning to ease the burden of high traffic volumes and congestion in Poynton. Cheshire East Council’s contractor, Graham, is undertaking enabling works to clear parts of the site and prepare the ground for construction. The design and build contract was awarded in autumn 2019 to Graham, who have been undertaking detailed design and site surveys, including ecological surveys and the creation of new ecological habitat. The 3km road is expected to open to traffic in Autumn 2022. Funding for the £53m scheme was agreed by government earlier this year, following a successful bid by the council for local growth funding administered by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. Poynton Relief Road will be a modern single carriageway. The relief road will also include two overbridge crossings for use by walkers, cyclists and farm vehicles. A 3.5-metre-wide combined cycle and footway will run beside the length of the route on the western side of the main carriageway. Councillor Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council said, “I am delighted that work has now begun on the long-awaited Poynton Relief Road. The council sees this scheme as a key priority in our major infrastructure plans to improve connections across the whole borough. “The Poynton Relief Road is a critical part of delivering our vision for sustainable economic growth and is another great example of how this council delivers high-quality infrastructure projects. It will create jobs, address the longstanding problems of congestion in and around Poynton and improve access to Macclesfield and other key strategic employment and visitor sites.” Transport Secretary, with cabinet responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse, Grant Shapps said: “It’s great to see work begin on yet another vital road upgrade in the North, delivering for the Northern Powerhouse and on our levelling-up commitment. This new road will cut congestion and pollution in Poynton, improve access to job opportunities and education and unlock plans for thousands of homes – benefiting residents, businesses and the wider region.” Leo Martin, managing director of civil engineering for Graham, said: “We are looking forward to beginning works on the new Poynton Relief Road and working with Cheshire East Council to develop this vital infrastructure for the village and wider region. “As well as reducing congestion in Poynton we will be providing a 3.5m-wide footpath and cycleway that will support cyclists and pedestrians as a greener option for travel. “I’ve no doubt this project will provide vast benefits to the Poynton and Macclesfield areas and will be the latest in a number of important transport infrastructure schemes we have been proud to deliver in recent years.” Cheshire East Council contributed £21m towards the cost of the scheme with Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership providing £5.6m from the government’s Growth Deal and the Department for Transport providing £16.4m. A total of £7.7m is expected to come from developer contributions. For more information on the Poynton Relief Road and to read the latest updates, visit our website.

Axis Communications, the market leader in network video, has helped develop an innovative and clean energy solution which illustrates the potential of sustainable surveillance technologies in remote locations. In response to a request to produce a system to document part of a major programme of improvements to Scotland’s A9 carriageway, Axis and its partner Camera Control UK, developed a solution which is capable of capturing high quality 4K time-lapse imagery using entirely renewable sources. One of the main challenges was that the solution needed to be able to capture high-quality surveillance video in an area with no communication networks or local power, while coping with weather extremes and construction logistics. With diesel generators disregarded due to the pollutants they would produce, and the challenges associated with trying to lay power cables over a considerable distance along a route that twists and turns, a clean and sustainable solution was required. The highways project will see a 10 mile stretch of the A9 from Perth to Inverness widened to increase the efficiency of the route and allow for smoother traffic flow. After winning a tender to document the project, local company, MB Productions Ltd, commissioned Camera Control UK to produce a solution. Camera Control UK in turn contacted Axis Communications, the industry leader in network video technology, to work in collaboration. The resulting video would be used for audit purposes, to provide evidence of best practice, and to serve as example material for future projects. Martin Naylor, Director of Camera Control UK, elaborates: “We realised it had to be an off-grid solution to avoid using local power; a solution that could incorporate wireless communications and utilise renewable energy sources to be environmentally friendly and sustainable over the longer term.” To bring the solution to life, AXIS P1448-LE 4K short bullet cameras were chosen for their robustness and durability. The final system uses eight solar power packs, charged by a mixture of wind turbine and solar PV panels. Eight towers with mounted cameras are employed at various key touchpoints along the A9. Communications masts, installed to enable cloud connectivity, ensured that the Axis cameras, connected via the IoT, were able to deliver imagery of incredible quality. The whole solution illustrates the possibilities for innovation when utilising the natural elements, having a virtually zero carbon footprint. All captured video is relayed back to a central control location using a dedicated wireless network. The whole system can be remotely monitored to continually check its status of operation. Remote management also enables the cameras to be fine-tuned for precision imagery of the work in progress, without the need to manually touch the cameras, or even to be on-site in person. Martin Naylor commented on the relationship with Axis that has made this solution possible: “Axis really values innovation and is therefore an ideal partner, not only because the team takes the time to understand the challenges when trying to push the boundaries of what’s possible in surveillance, but also because their drive towards sustainable and ethical practices is an inspiration to other technology companies.” Matt Brown, Director, MBP, said of the solution: “We are now able to capture fantastic 4K imagery of the ongoing work on the A9. Camera Control UK has produced an entirely green solution; an incredible feat of engineering. The Axis cameras are in a completely different league, in terms of quality, to others we’ve seen. This project has been a great success.”

Amey Consulting is set to bring its data science expertise to Highways England courtesy of a new contract. The firm will work with Highways England’s chief data office to provide a framework and the latest tools to enable a data science service and will deliver several data science projects to demonstrate the benefits of a data-driven approach. This new service will enable Highways England to identify and deliver data science projects to unlock insights from their data and use this to implement and embed sustainable, data led business improvement into the organisation. This will deliver benefits in safety, customer experience and delivery and forms a key part of their new Information Vision & Strategy. Alex Gilbert, Managing Director of Amey Consulting, said: “This is a fantastic result for the business, and we’re excited to be working closely with Highways England and playing an important part in delivering their Information Vision and Strategy. It builds on a successful year for our Strategic Consulting team, who also secured major opportunities with Network Rail as part of their Intelligent Infrastructure programme and the nationwide roll-out of our Quartz platform to improve train performance across all routes.” Jon Drea, Head of Data Science for Highways England, added: “I am delighted to bring Amey Consulting’s data science expertise to Highways England. They are developing the service to transform processes for the better across our organisation. By unlocking the power of information, we can fulfil our purpose of connecting the country through better journeys.” Amey Consulting is now on the look out for new data science professionals, as it expands its team of 140 under the contract.

Kier Highways has been awarded the 15-month interim highways services contract for Birmingham Highways Ltd (BHL) from 1 April 2019 to 29 June 2020. The contract includes the city’s traffic operations, planned and reactive maintenance, inspections and winter servicing. It covers more than 2,500km of road and 5,000km of footways, as well as 846 structures, three tunnels, 94,000 street lighting columns, 76,000 highway trees and the city’s traffic control system. Joe Incutti, Kier Acting Group Managing Director for Highways said: “We are delighted to be appointed to the Birmingham Highways contract and have a wealth of experience in successfully designing and maintaining local authority roads. We’re a trusted supplier and already operate in the midlands delivering maintenance to one of the most complex and busy highway networks in the UK, including Spaghetti Junction, which carries 60,000 vehicles each day. “We are looking forward to working alongside Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Highways Ltd on this contract to keep roads in Birmingham safe and reliable.” Natasha Rouse, Chief Executive of BHL, said: “We look forward to working with Kier. The company has put together a robust offer that demonstrates its ability to provide a good quality of service and mobilise quickly and efficiently. We aim to achieve a seamless transition to our new provider while continuing to service the city’s highways network.” Councillor Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said: “I am pleased that Kier has put a compelling and competitive bid to us to maintain the city’s highways. Its reputation as a leading national roads operator should give welcomed assurance to the people of Birmingham that we have put the safe and efficient servicing of our streets at the heart of this process.” Kier Highways manages 30,000km of the UK’s strategic and local authority road network, currently working with a wide range of local authorities in the country. It delivers highway services to 4.2m people and its routine reactive maintenance includes emptying gullies, surface treatment and repairing potholes.