Institution of Civil Engineers 2014 West Midlands Awards
A38(M) Tame Valley Viaduct
Client: Birmingham City Council Partner: Atkins
As a critical link between the West Midlands and the rest of the UK, the Tame Valley Viaduct is a key section of the highway network, carrying 620 metres of the A38(M) Aston Expressway between Birmingham city centre and 'Spaghetti Junction', Junction 6 of the M6.
In this project, it was essential for a team of Atkins engineers to devise novel techniques satisfying both operational and safety requirements. They applied leading-edge technology to push beyond design codes to sustain the city's accessibility to and from the national motorway network and to protect and keep in service for the future this key highway asset.
The vision of Birmingham City Council showed how investment at the assessment and design stage could leverage major savings during construction. In addition to saving millions in reduced strengthening, this innovative approach will reduce the risks to any workforce working in difficult conditions.
A45 Transport Improvement Corridor
Client: Birmingham City Council , Birmingham Airport Partners: Turner & Townsend Project Management, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (Highways Authority)
As a result of its excellent transport links, the A45 Transport Corridor Improvement Scheme will significantly boost the region's profile.
It has improved traffic on a major route into Birmingham city centre and the accessibility to major locations in the area such as the National Exhibition Centre, Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing plant and Birmingham Airport by enabling the runway extension to be constructed to secure even more economic benefit.
The £30m diversion of the existing A45 transport corridor included one mile of new dual carriageway, a new cycleway, bridleway and associated earthworks. Significant new and state-of-the-art services were also installed. In addition, the diversion of a major fuel main serving Birmingham Airport, diversion of the main sewer serving the whole of Solihull and the provision for public transport may facilitate Midland Metro services running to the airport in the future.
Birmingham Box Phase 3 Smart Motorways Project (BB3)
Client: Highways Agency Partners: Mouchel, Carillion
Birmingham Box phase 3 (BB3) is the latest smart motorway project to be delivered by Mouchel (designer) and Carillion (delivery partner) for the Highways Agency. The award-winning BB3 team successfully delivered another congestion busting scheme, though this time with more challenging features.
The project, between Junctions 5 and 8 of the M6, included significant sections of motorway on a viaduct including the iconic 'Spaghetti Junction'. The team overcame the incredible challenge of designing and installing the latest smart motorways technology on this elevated and narrow corridor.
The 35 gantries, 27 message signs and 172 signals give the Highways Agency's regional control centre the capability to control traffic, ease congestion, improve safety and journey time reliability for the 160,000+ drivers using the network every day. BB3 extends the M42 smart motorways benefits by reducing personal injury accidents by more than half since hard shoulder running was introduced.
