Congratulations to everyone involved in the A14 C2H project, which has opened to traffic eight months ahead of schedule.
The permanent roadworks have been removed, and the national 70mph speed limit restored. This was originally scheduled for December 2020.
While the road has reopened, further works will continue, requiring temporary off-peak and overnight closures. Other ongoing work on the project includes transforming the old A14, new cycle, pedestrian and horse riding routes, and building new link roads into the town of Huntingdon.
Everyone working on the project has attended briefings and toolbox talks on working safely during the coronavirus outbreak. These have included information about maintaining social distance and welfare, transport and working processes.
Integrated Labour Team
The A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme started in November 2016 and has employed over 14,000 people working 14 million construction hours. Most of those people have been supplied by a collaborative partnership called the A14 Integrated Labour Team (ILT). The ILT is made up of VGC and partner labour companies Hercules Site Services, Danny Sullivan Group, and Reliable Contractors. The ILT has won several awards, including the Highways England ‘improving employee engagement’ award.
Chris Ryan, director, said: “We are very proud to be part of such a successful collaboration. Thank you to all of our partners who have bought into different ways of working, this change of mindset has helped us achieve great results. I would especially like to thank labour manager James Burke for his dedication to achieving a behavioural change in the way we deliver labour to the project.”
Labour manager James Burke leads the A14 ILT. He said: “It is a privilege to be involved in such a prestigious project. Together we have proved that focusing on collaboration and innovation can really raise the bar for standards. It has also shown that effective leadership, investing in teams and the right culture will lead to great things.
“I personally have learnt so much about myself, and I count myself lucky to have made so many new friends from my time as part of the ILT. I am excited for the future of the construction industry because of this game-changing project.”
Jim O’Sullivan, Highways England chief executive, said “I would like to thank everyone across Highways England and our supply chain for their contribution to this project, as well as road users, residents and stakeholders for their patience and support during the work.”
For more information, see the Highways England website.
