14 July 2014

It’s three in a row for the first new road crossing across the River Thames for 20 years, Walton Bridge.

Having previously won two awards from the Institution of Civil Engineers, the £32.4 million structure, which links Walton-on-Thames with Shepperton, has now won the Built Intelligence NEC3 Contractor of the Year Award for 2014.

The prize was awarded by Built Intelligence's NEC People, which runs an on-line group on LinkedIn that allows members of the industry who are NEC enthusiasts to exchange ideas about interpretation of NEC3s, the type of contract most used by Costain. It also holds an annual conference on the subject.

The latest award was particularly pleasing as Costain was nominated for it by its client on the project, Surrey County Council (SCC).

In his nomination, SCC Project Manager for the bridge,  Keith Scott, noted that construction of the new river link had been achieved without a single reportable accident in more than 350,000 man-hours. This, he said, “is a superb record that Surrey County Council views as an excellent indicator of a well-managed and run project.

“Certainly, based on the scale of the project involving many different aspects of construction works, each associated with their own risks and hazards, this is something that should be recognised and commended at the highest level.”

He also noted the complexity of the site, which was effectively split into four sections by the presence of the A244 road, Walton Lane and the Thames Path, with associated pedestrian footways.

With a high level of contact with the public, Keith also picked out Costain’s community involvement during the build as having been notable.

At the opening ceremony, the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, added his praise to Costain’s involvement: “Not only is this the first new road bridge across the River Thames for over 20 years, this iconic structure is an excellent example of engineering excellence. Moreover, this major construction project was delivered on time and within budget, for which Surrey and Costain should be highly praised.”

The award Costain won was sponsored by Built Intelligence, an NEC3-focused consultancy. The Company beat off four other well-regarded candidate projects to take the NEC3 Contractor of the Year title.

Andy Bannister, Costain’s Project Manager for Walton Bridge, commented: “The NEC contract allowed total flexibility for Surrey County Council to make the necessary changes to the scope following a Public Inquiry, ensuring that requirements of the end user and stakeholders were provided for.

“The NEC provided the framework for Surrey and Costain to work collaboratively whilst maintaining control of the contract through the use of the contract tools and processes combined with an on-line contract management system.”  

 

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