Showcasing the IHT Awards
M1 6A-10 Widening Scheme
Martin Brock
HSEQ Assurance Manager
Agenda
• Outline of M1 6A-10 project
• Safety aspects
• Worker safety
• Road user safety
• Benefits and Accolades
• Questions
M1 Junctions 6a to 10 Widening
M1 J6a-10
£300m
Organisations Involved
• Client – Highways Agency
• Agent – WSP Consultants
• Contractor – Balfour Beatty
Skanska Joint Venture
• Designer – Atkins
Consultants
• Supply chain –
subcontractors and suppliers
Description
• Widen motorway from 3
to 4 lanes
• Site 17.5 km long – from
Junction 6A to 10
• New parallel distribution
roads between Junctions
7 and 8
• Full motorway signaling and
communications equipment
• Low noise asphalt
Bridges
7 over bridges
Substructure built during the day
Over Bridges
Bridges demolished at night
Over Bridges
Bridge decks constructed at night
Other Structures
• 10 under-bridges widened and
refurbished
• 3 new slip road bridges
• Pedestrian subway
• Retaining walls
52 Gantries
Centre Reserve Barrier
Safety Aspects
• Working adjacent to M1 motorway
-
Most congested in Europe
160,000 vehicles per day
High percentage of HGVs
Significant congestion in peak periods
• A large complex site
-
17.5km long
Over 500 people working on site each month
125,000 hrs worked each month
Complex construction operations
Worker Safety
• Back to basics
- Risk Assessments, Method Statements, Field Control
Sheets and Permits to Dig made clear and more relevant
- Meet with each sub-contractor and explain ‘Back to
Basics’ Campaign
- “The BIG 5” campaign used to reinforce mandatory PPE
Worker Safety
• Revitalise Behavioural Based Safety
• Safety champion appointed for each team
• Supply chain requested to take a greater
involvement in BBS
- Appointment of observers
- Culture surveys of supplier organisations
- Bi-weekly safety meeting with each sub-contractor
• Near Miss Cards
• Weekly review of incidents and near miss
data
Worker Safety
• Monthly Safety Newsletter
- Reward consistently good safety performances
• Utilise a consistent workforce with as little
change as possible
• Thorough root cause analysis of significant
incidents:
incidents
- All reportable accidents
- Minor injuries or and near-misses that had potential to cause
significant harm
- All events capture on “Tr@ction” database
Road user safety
• Built on knowledge and learning from the M25
J12-J15:
- Careful design of traffic management regimes based on
research, learning and experience
- Regulating traffic speeds
- Speed enforcement
• Fortnightly traffic management clinic for key
stakeholders
• Clear and effective customer communications
• Fast and effective vehicle recovery system
Use of SPECS
• A first for a motorway widening scheme
- Previous schemes had always utilised ‘spot speed’
- Spot speed enforcement systems caused “speed-surfing”
and late-breaking ripples
• SPECS controls both
traffic speeds and
driver behaviour
- Improved journey time
predictability
- Improved traffic flow
conditions
- Smoother traffic flows
Use of SPECS
• Innovative portable
foundation developed for
SPECS
- Provide for rapid configuration
changes
- Equipment located behind safety
barriers allowed safe access and
maintenance
• Allowed temporary
speed limit to be increased
from 40mph to 50mph
Use of SPECS
Severity of
Incident
Three Year Baseline Period Roadworks Period
Average
Annual
Reduction
2003/4
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
Fatal
1
0
2
0
0
100%
Serious
21
20
9
9
3
64%
Slight
198
221
194
83
107
53.4%
All
220
241
205
92
110
54.5%
Vehicle Recovery
• Restricted hard shoulder access
- Fast and effective vehicle recovery system was
essential
- Minimised delays and potential for further
accidents
- Quick clearance of broken-down/damaged
vehicles
• Instant identification of incidents
• Efficient and speedy recovery
• Safe and secure area for motorists/families
Traffic Cameras
24hr CCTV traffic monitoring centre
Vehicle Recovery
Dedicated vehicle recovery
units for stranded motorists
Recovered an average of 130
vehicles per week
76 vehicles in one day in July
2007
Average time taken to clear
the carriageway of an
incident - 23 minutes
Dedicated recovery centre
Summary of the benefits
The key benefits realised on the project are:
• Nearly 4 million hours worked
• AFR for the project – 0.18
• The last 1,500,000 hours worked without a
Reportable Injury
• Zero AFR since November 2007
• Road-user injury related accidents reduced by 54%
• Road-user fatalities eliminated
• Serious road-user injuries have reduced by 64%
Accolades
PC Froy, Motorway Traffic Management Officer,
Hertfordshire Constabulary
“The accident statistics for the first year of the project show a
significant reduction compared to the previous year without the
roadworks, and journey time delays caused by collisions are
correspondingly lower. It is very noticeable how smoothly the traffic
flows through the site. For such a major scheme, these roadworks
feel noticeably safer than previous projects”.
Geoff Bethel, Project Manager, Highways Agency
“The joint project team decision to employ the use of the SPECS
system on the M1 J6A to 10 Widening project has turned out to be an
excellent one. As HA Project Manager for the widening scheme I am
delighted at the positive influence the system has had on road user
safety and the reduction in accident statistics within the scheme limits
during the lifetime of the project to date”.
M1 6A-10 Widening
Thank you
Any Questions