Press Release

Two 1,000 tonne bridges will be installed during the weekend of 14 September as part of the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme.

The £1.5 billion project is being delivered on behalf of Highways England by a three-way joint-venture comprised of Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Costain.

An innovative engineering technique has been adopted whereby the bridges were pre-constructed at the side of the live carriageway, minimising essential highways closures to only four days. During this time a self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT) will lift the decks of the new bridges, each measuring 44m, into place.

The new bridges, located at Bar Hill, will form a new, improved junction which will connect the A14 to the future local access road between Cambridge and Huntingdon, as well as to the existing local road between Bar Hill and Longstanton (B1050). The new bridges will replace the existing one at Bar Hill which will be demolished in 2019.

The overall A14 improvements scheme will see 21 miles of strategic road network between Cambridge and Huntingdon upgraded from two to three lanes in each direction including a brand new 12 mile bypass south of Huntingdon. The upgrade, which is due to complete by the end of 2020, will also feature the construction of 34 bridges and structures, including the 750-metre long River Great Ouse viaduct.

David Bray, project director for the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon upgrade at Highways England, said: “Redesigning and building the Bar Hill junction was identified from the start of the project as one of the main challenges we would have to tackle. I am delighted that we’ve found a way to build the two bridges while keeping the A14 open as much as possible and disruption for people locally and road users to a minimum. And I am also excited that we’re using such an innovative solution to our challenge – that’s what makes my job so interesting.”

ENDS

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Balfour Beatty
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Notes to editors:

• Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 30,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
• Our main geographies are the UK & Ireland, US and Far East. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
• Balfour Beatty’s Major Projects business delivers large-scale, complex infrastructure projects that keep the UK moving and the economy thriving. Employing over 2,000 people, the business operates within three principal markets: Transportation, Energy and Power and Industrial.
• Major Projects brings together the broad spectrum of capabilities and expertise from across the Balfour Beatty Group, working with the Rail, Power and M&E businesses to deliver innovative, bespoke engineering and construction solutions for our clients.
• Our current portfolio of projects includes the delivery of two major design and build contracts for High Speed 2; Crossrail’s Whitechapel and Liverpool Street Station tunnels, as well as the stations at Whitechapel and Woolwich; the tunnelling and marine works at Hinkley Point C; and the west section of the Thames Tideway tunnel, London’s new major super-sewer through central London. We are also the leading supplier to Highways England, providing world-class asset management capabilities on key routes such as the M25.
• Our legacy of iconic projects includes the Olympic Stadium transformation; Heathrow Airport Terminal 2; Blackfriars Station; the Olympic Aquatics Centre; and first Smart Motorway in the South West of England on the M4 and M5, improving journey safety and traffic capacity.