A120 Collaborative Working

Six separate sets of road works were combined and carried out within a single traffic management layout along the A120 between Colchester and Braintree in Essex.

The main carriageway was resurfaced earlier in 2017 so news of additional work was not warmly received by local residents or Essex County Council, particularly in the approach to Christmas.

The work, largely comprising high-friction surfacing, road marking renewal and new road signs, along with bridge joint replacement, was carefully coordinated and resourced to maximise the efficiency of delivery.

Work was planned to take place on weeknights between 9pm and 6am and local residents with no alternative route to and from their property were carefully escorted through the work sites with a minimum of disruption.

During these  works along the A120 near Colchester in Essex, we were approached by Cadent, who are responsible for the gas distribution network in the east of England, regarding the installation of a new gas supply to a local vulnerable resident.

The resident’s son was in was in hospital undergoing treatment for a serious condition and could only return home once the gas supply was available.  We immediately reviewed our programme to find a suitable window when we could suspend our works to facilitate the works. Once a date was agreed, our workforce was redeployed to carry out other works while the new supply was installed and tested. We believe the resident’s son was discharged before Christmas, in time to enjoy the holiday at home.

Highways England project sponsor Geoff Chatfield said: “This is a great opportunity to show the collaboration that can take place not only with other organisations sharing the network but also with those affected by our works.”