Telent Technology Services Ltd. (Telent), a leading UK technology and network services company, has played a major role in the successful completion of a billion pound Highways England A-road project more than half a year ahead of schedule.
Completed during a time of unprecedented challenges and added safety precautions, the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme is one of the largest road-building projects undertaken by Highways England. Work officially started in November 2016 and the new road opened to traffic on Tuesday 5th May 2020 – a full eight months ahead of schedule.
Telent's National Roads Telecommunication Services (NRTS) team and Regional Technology Maintenance Contracts (RTMCs) teams worked alongside the A14 Integrated Delivery Team, playing an integral role in delivering the technology for the programme, including project management, design, installation, commissioning and provisioning, as well as maintenance.
Highways England estimates journeys between Huntingdon and Cambridge could be up to 20 minutes faster on the new road as a result of the upgrade. The work includes a major new bypass to the south of Huntingdon and an upgrade to 21 miles of the A14.
The scheme included a number of individual contracts including Designers (Atkins & Jacobs) and Constructors (Balfour Beatty, Skanska & Costain). These organisations established the A14 Integrated Delivery Team to share best practice and a collaborative delivery model with partners and suppliers for the overall benefit of the project.
Andy Hopes, Telent Regional Project Manager who led the team, said: “Collaboration was the key to the success of the project. We were able to introduce several programme efficiencies through joint planning, coordination of resources, and working creatively together to keep the programme on track. The collaboration between Telent NRTS and RTMC was significant to the success of the commissioning phase, working closely together and, on occasion, undertaking elements of each other’s work providing further benefit.”
Steve Clarke, Contracts Manager for Transport responsible for Telent's RTMC team on the project, added: “It has been a pleasure to work collaboratively with the A14 Scheme, as they have made the Roadside Technology a primary consideration in the overall design and implementation of the new section of A14. From initial design through to commissioning of the new Technology, close liaison between all parties has been key to the great success of the scheme.."