Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) is a public/private sector alliance run by Ringway Jacobs and Buckinghamshire County Council to deliver highways services within Buckinghamshire. With tight budgets and deadlines, the race was on when TfB needed to resurface the approach road to the home of British motorsport – Silverstone. Laura-Jo Stocks, communications officer at TfB, explains
Impressive cars, the Formula 1 elite and international celebrities may all spring to mid when thinking of the Silverstone race circuit, but for the Buckinghamshire highways team, it was the approach roads to the track that were top priority.
Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) rose to the challenge when task with designing and building a scheme near the motor racing circuit with tight deadlines set for completion before the British Grand Prix at the start of July.
As part of TfB’s summer resurfacing programme, a four kilometre length of deteriorated carriageway between the village of Dadford and the Silverstone track in north Buckinghamshire was identified as a candidate scheme, requiring reconstruction as well as the addition of new features to enhance road safety. Schemes are selected through a combination of analysis of condition data and local councillor knowledge, which assists and informs the decision making process. Once confirmed and programmed, the countdown began and the challenge commenced – to complete the works prior to the arrival of the entourage for the international Formula 1 British Grand Prix.
In addition to the time challenge, a number of innovative processes were used to reconstruct the road which included in-situ recycling of the existing road material, a first for the country, in combination with conventional new pavement and surface dressing methods. This will ensure a high quality surface for the road, in addition to improving skid resistance, with new lining to enhance road safety.
WORKING TO SCHEDULE
With only five weeks to complete the scheme the project team made sure this tight schedule was met, ensuring the different contractors engaged to undertake the work were fully coordinated. To achieve this the road was closed for the majority of the works, allowing multiple crews to out work during day and night, which considerably reduced the construction period.
The TfB team also coordinated the resurfacing work with a range of routine maintenance activities including drainage, landscaping, signing, refreshing road markings and work to safety barriers. This guaranteed the most efficient use of the road closure providing a cost saving as well as giving environmental benefits.
Throughout the delivery Transport for Buckinghamshire and Silverstone Circuits worked closely to keep road users, visitors and customers up to date with the latest news of progress. Following completion to time and budget, all traffic management was removed and the road re-opened for use prior to the prestigious Grand Prix event.
Alex Lacey, head of events for Silverstone Circuits, said:
“Transport for Buckinghamshire set themselves a considerable challenge in April to undertake this work within timescales. They rose to this challenge and, through a close working relationship and regular communications between all parties, the works were completed in good time for the 2015 Formula One British Grand Prix, meaning customers, as well as local road users, will benefit from the much improved road surface.”
Mark Shaw, cabinet member for transport at Buckinghamshire County Council, added:
“We are delighted that this project has been such a success, and thrilled at the improvements that will benefit local residents and road users. Working towards such a high profile target date was undoubtedly a challenge, but one that my team undertook confidently, assured that work would be completed to the highest standard within the deadline without compromising quality.”
