2011 Merit Awards Winners

Physical Achievement

M25 DBFO Widening Junction 27 – 30 – Exceptional Merit
Project Sponsor – Highways Agency
Construction Manager – Connect Plus
Consultant – Atkins
Designers – A joint venture between Gifford and WSP
Contractor – Skanska Balfour Beatty Joint Venture

Notwithstanding a delay of 5 weeks to the award of the contract the team were able to complete these 8.5 km of widening works within programme and to budget.  Early engagement with landowners and construction partners meant that the team were able to start work within hours of contract award.  

Despite the pressure to complete the works to a very tight programme quality has not been compromised.  The judges were impressed with the focus on whole-life costing, programming, teamwork and the attention to detail in the management of this complex project; engendering trust between all parties.

Wisbech Flood Defence Scheme – Merit
Client - Environment Agency
Project Manager – EC Harris
Designer – Atkins
Contractor – Interserve

Spread along over 4km of river bank in rural Cambridgeshire this project presented some particular logistical challenges.  Add to this much of the works needed to be carried out next to residential, retail and commercial properties in the centre of Wisbech.  

Close liaison with the general public helped the team to fully understand the impact of their works and a can do attitude to minimising disruption helped maintained public support.  The work was completed 7 months early, under budget and with no rework.

Oikos No.1 Jetty Repair and Upgrading – Merit
Client – Oikos
Consultant – Haydn Evans
Contractor – WPH Contracting

Oikos’ bulk liquid storage terminal on Canvey Island is a strategic and vital part of the United Kingdom's infrastructure for road, jet and bunker fuel distribution.  Oikos have operated on Canvey Island for over 70 years and, under new ownership, the terminal is currently undergoing major redevelopment.  As part of this work an aging jetty needed to be upgraded.  
The works were completed without road access, through a hot summer and difficult winter whilst keeping the jetty and service pipes open to fuel deliver ships.  The judges felt that the particular difficulties that the team overcame merited reward – careful planning, team spirit and ingenuity came together to deliver a tricky project to a delighted Client.

Team Achievement

A12 Junction 28 Grade Separated Junction, Colchester – Exceptional Merit
Client – Essex County Council
Delivery Partner - Highways Agency
Consultant – URS Scott Wilson
Contractor – Carillion Civil Engineering

A new grade separated junction was needed on the A12 north of Colchester to enable development of the former Severalls Hospital site and employment of land near the Weston Homes Community Stadium – home to Colchester United FC.  Funding constraints meant that this work needed to be completed before 31 March 2011.  

The construction team managed to beat the extremely tight programme by a full 3 months – coordinating the opening of the junction with a new service area.  If this wasn’t impressive enough the works were completed without imposing a reduced speed limit on the A12 and with very few carriageway possessions and minimal traffic management.  Client, Consultant and Contractor along with their supply chain all worked together to deliver the scheme within a tight timescale.  

The judges were also impressed with the team’s commitment to site safety, sharing knowledge and community consultation.

East Lane Bawdsey Emergency Works – Merit
Client – Environment Agency
Consultant – Royal Haskoning
Contractor – Team Van Oord

East Lane, Bawdsey lies on the Suffolk coast between Orfordness and Felixstowe.  In November 2009 the existing sea defences were damaged by south-easterly gales that washed away the shingle beach leaving the underlying clay exposed.  With valuable agricultural land and environmentally protected sites in danger of inundation the Environment Agency declared an emergency and mobilised their framework suppliers.  The resulting coastal protection scheme - comprising almost 100m of rock revetment and protection to a concrete apron – was completed in 3 months and within budget.

The judges commented on the value of the established relationships that this framework encouraged.  They were impressed with the sharing of risk that took place and – despite this being an emergency situation – the opportunities taken to deliver value through the supply chain.

Wisbech Flood Defence Scheme - Merit
Client - Environment Agency
Project Manager – EC Harris
Designer – Atkins
Contractor – Interserve

These flood defence works to 4 km of the River Neve through Wisbech in Cambridgeshire were completed 7 months early, under budget and with no rework.  The scheme included 4 km of sheet piling, 2km of brick buttress wall strengthening and 2km of brick clad concrete sheet piled wall.  Much of the work was completed in very constrained conditions through the centre of Wisbech and the efforts of the team to minimise the disruption of the works was particularly noteworthy.

The judges noted the decision to brand all site operations in Environment Agency colours – which helped to establish the team and also led to a right first time work ethic.   The judges were also impressed by the close liaison with the local community and the efforts made to ensure that the public were kept fully informed.

Technical Excellence and Innovation

B1115 Stowmarket Relief Road – Merit
Client – Suffolk County Council
Designer – Mouchel
Contractor - Birse

The Stowmarket relief Road provides a new route for the B1115 on the Eastern side of the town.  The contract included a new bridge over the Norwich to London Railway situated on poor ground.  An unpredictable settlement period was avoided by surcharging an alternative design for a piled load transfer platform to support the embankment approaches to the new bridge was proposed by the Contractor.

The Contractor made the best opportunity to source materials locally and was also able to reuse or recycle much of the spoil from the scheme.  The judges also commented on the use of reinforced earth embankments, polystyrene fill and the technique used to engrave murals on the parapets of two highway bridges.

Oikos No.1 Jetty Repair and Upgrading – Merit
Client – Oikos
Consultant – Haydn Evans
Contractor – WPH Contracting

Oikos’ bulk liquid storage terminal on Canvey Island is connected to two of the United Kingdom’s key pipeline networks.  Oikos have operated on Canvey Island for over 70 years and, under new ownership, the terminal is currently undergoing major redevelopment.  As part of this work an aging jetty needed to be upgraded.  
The incorporation of temporary works into the permanent works, reuse of a disused footbridge section and the protection of a Site of Special Scientific Interest, all whilst working in potentially hazardous conditions with highly flammable materials and over water all helped to impress the judges.  The work was completed without road access, in an area of extreme tides through a hot summer and difficult winter whilst keeping the jetty and service pipes open to fuel delivery ships.  The judges felt that the particular care paid to operative welfare, site safety and planning around the Clients operations were deserving of an award.

A421 Improvement Scheme, M1 Junction 13 to Bedford – Merit
Client – Highways Agency
Client Representative – Jacobs
Designers – URS Scott Wilson
Contractor – Balfour Beatty Major Civil Engineering

The A421 improvement scheme is a new 13.5km dual carriageway that runs between Bedford and M1 Junction 13.  The road crosses Brogborough Lake, a former clay borrow pit that had been back filled with clay slurry and so ground conditions were poor.  

The team designed a scheme that used over 40,000 tyres in the form of tyre bales as a lightweight fill material to support the new road.  They were able to use compost as an erosion control blanket and also as a fill material for piled embankments.  A further 375,000 tonnes of locally sourced pulverised fuel ash was also used on the project.  In total 96% of waste was recycled on the project.

The judges thought that the use of tyre bales was an elegant solution to some difficult ground conditions.  Their incorporation helped make use of a hazardous material, saving on imported fill and also contributing towards a £1-2m saving for the Client from using recycled materials.  

Goddard Road Salt Barn – Merit
Client and Architect – Suffolk County Council
Civil and Structural Engineer – Pick Everard
M & E Engineer – Suffolk County Council
Main Contractor – Barnes Construction

Suffolk County Council was keen to relocate from their existing highway depot at Great Blakenham and needed to increase their salt stock piles.  Having purchased land on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate in Ipswich the Council set about procuring a new salt barn as part of a £3.5m redevelopment of the new site.

Early Contractor involvement and consultation helped to design a structure that was relatively easy to assemble but also took into account the highway authority’s experience of operating other salt barns over the last 40 years.  Ground conditions presented some significant problems but the main concern was how best to cope with the maintenance issues involved with salt storage.  The glulam timber framed structure that resulted was praised by the construction team that assembled it.  

The judges felt that the final solution took account of the Client’s long term needs as well considering buildability and future maintenance.  They were also impressed with preplanning, the degree of offsite fabrication and lack of site waste.   

Luton Sixth Form College – Merit
Client – Luton Sixth Form College
Project Manager – Turner and Townsend
Architect – KSS Design Group
Main Contractor – Vinci Construction UK
Civil and Structural Engineer – Mott MacDonald
Other Contributing Parties – GDM Partnership, Hyland Edgar Driver, Baqus and WSP Project Safety

The oldest sixth form college in the England was in need of redevelopment as the existing buildings had reached the end of their useful life.  The new college project provides a brand new building with a floor area of 16,800m2 including an eight court sports hall, theatre, TV and music studios and extensive classroom and laboratory facilities.  All of this needed to be built during term time and in time for staff to decant from the old buildings at the start of the 2010 summer holidays.

The judges particularly noted the integrated ground source heat pumping for heating and cooling the building using water extracted from 100 metres below ground with a hollowdeck construction to increase thermal mass.  These combined to produce a highly energy efficient building – with a BREEAM rating of very good.  The Construction team worked with the Client to ensure that the building meets the college’s needs and came up with several proposals that helped keep the scheme on budget whilst delivering a high quality building.  Feedback from the users is very positive – described as having “a huge impact on our students” by the college principal.  

3 St James Court, Jarrolds, Norwich – Merit
Client – Jarrold St James Ltd
Project Manager – Bidwells
Designer - Ramboll
Architect – Aukett Fitzroy Robinson
M&E Engineer and Flood Risk Assessment- WSP
Cost Consultant – Davis Langdon
Contractor – RG Carter

3 St James Court is new three storey office building in Norwich, built on the site of the former NJP printworks.  For a relatively small site there were a number of significant risks including flood, archaeology, contamination and historical land use.  The development team decided that they needed a solution that would militate against all these risks, in particular archaeological risk.  The solution of large diameter bored piles helped to preserve the archaeological heritage of the site, minimised excavation and also raised the ground floor slab above anticipated flood levels.  

The judges noted that the completed building on a brownfield site achieved a BREEAM rating of very good.  The final design worked well with the Contractor able to complete the job on time and to budget.