Overview:
Admirals Park is a section of one of the most popular cycle routes in Chelmsford. The park sees a high footfall throughout the year due to the path providing an off-carriageway connection to the west side of the city centre. Improvements were needed to increase the standard of the cycle route encourages greater use of the network and ensures the safety of those that use it. The project entailed the replacement of the run-down bride in Admirals Park with a wider and safer structure, improving journeys for both pedestrians and cyclists.
The Challenge
As the bridge lies in one of the most used cycle routes in Chelmsford, it was essential that the public could still access this route throughout the improvement works. The conditions of the site meant that the removal of the existing bridge and replacement of the new bridge would take precise planning and management to ensure the safety of Marlborough staff and the public. The Covid-19 social distancing rules made the developments of the site significantly more difficult and required increased communication between all parties involved to ensure government guidance was continually followed.
Fact File
Client Essex Highways
Date June 2020 – October 2020
Duration 5 months
Value Part of a £15 million Chelmsford City Growth Package
Project
- Removal of an existing pedestrian bridge in Admirals Park
- Installation of a temporary footbridge
- Installation of a new, wider bridge to create a wider and safer structure for pedestrians and cyclists
Client savings
- The project went to plan and was completed as per the drawings.
- The project was delivered within budget.
Quote from client
“Marlborough were an incredibly proactive and helpful contractor who provided an exemplar service. They completed the scheme to budget and programme (with the exception of a couple of external uncontrollable factors). I would be very happy to appoint them again on future schemes.”
Kris Corbett, Project Sponsor (Highways), Essex County Council.
The Solution
A new, temporary bridge was installed for the public which was open for the duration of the project- only being closed temporarily to protect the public when necessary. Marlborough’s 25 years’ civil engineering experience enabled the safe removal of the run-down bridge to allow the team to start works on the construction of new abutments.
The new 3.5 metre wide bridge was fabricated off-site and was transported to Admirals park to be lifted into its final location. Following the completion of the new bridge installation, the temporary bridge was removed, and the grounds instated. All those involved adopted the latest official advice from Gov.UK, PHE and HSE safe operating procedures in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the health and safety of staff and the public was closely monitored to ensure Marlborough Highways follow government advice and guidelines at all times.
“One of the things I value most is their very collaborative and transparent team culture. It makes a big difference to have a contractor that wants to work closely with us and is supportive and responsive. With Marlborough, I get a team who are attentive, work collaboratively and honestly with me and don’t lose focus on delivering first class communications and compliance.”
“From the design stage, Marlborough has been fundamental in delivering the Broad Lane Square improvements scheme. During the works, not only did the team manage to keep to the programme, but they went the extra mile to ensure attention to detail and came up with innovative solutions to address issues encountered on site. My thanks on behalf of Haringey goes out to Marlborough for their dedication to deliver.”
“Working alongside our Term Service Contractor Marlborough Highways, we successfully completed renovations to the Crowstone Footbridge. The designs were provided by Marlborough, and the work was unique. The scheme was completed to budget and ahead of its programme duration.”
“I would like to thank you and your team for your efforts, the Marlborough crews were professional, courteous, and hard working all day and ensured the event went without a hitch. You and the team were a credit to the company, demonstrating commitment and support to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.”
“I just wanted to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Marlborough Highways over the last six months. The quality of work is superb, and there has been some excellent collaboration between Milestone and Marlborough to complete, what at times, has been quite a challenging scheme. I hope to work with Marlborough on another project in the near future.”
“Marlborough worked with us in constructing a 1.3km cycle track. There were a number of technical difficulties to overcome, and their gifted foreman worked to propose some innovative solutions to the challenges we faced. The result is a facility that the locals are proud of, providing walkers and cyclists with alternative access to the hospital and nearby school. The scheme was a lot of hard work, but well worth it.”
“Marlborough attracts people who take care and have pride in their work. Several gangs of Operatives worked tirelessly for six months to reconstruct drainage networks, lay more than 3km of high quality bespoke granite kerbs and granite channels blocks to ensure positive drainage. The technical compliance, attention to detail and level of quality finish along the entire carriageway was exceptional”.
“We saw huge benefits in appointing Marlborough as our full service contractor and we’re impressed – they’ve delivered consistent high quality service and superior quality control across every project. Marlborough, provide us with a ‘one-stop’ shop solution – we get the same quality of service and better control across all aspects of the project.”
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