The biggest road project currently under construction in the UK is aiming to leave a positive footprint on the local environment once completed by the end of 2020.
Highways England’s £1.5 billion upgrade to the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon will see the project team, comprised of Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Skanska and Costain, move protected species from the site to a newly created habitat the size of 269 rugby pitches (271 hectares) around the new road.
In addition to collecting rare wildflower seeds and specimens which will be sown once construction is complete, trees will be replanted on site at a ratio of two trees planted for every one felled.
Environmental initiatives also include using renewable energy where possible, and making the most of naturally-occurring materials on site to build the road.
Ecologists working on the project are caring for a range of protected species along the route including great crested newts, water voles, bats, breeding birds such as yellow wagtail, skylark, corn bunting and yellowhammer, and badgers.
To find out more about how the project is caring for the environment, click here.
ENDS
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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, US and South East Asia. 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.
