HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd was Highly Commended at the recent C23 Awards in recognition of its ‘One-Team’ approach to its collaborative partnership with EKFB.
EKFB is a joint venture between four civil engineering and construction companies: Eiffage, Kier Transportation, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall. They are collaboratively delivering a £2.3 billion package of works for the new high-speed line. A 3.4km section of earthworks was recently completed that will carry East West Rail (EWR) services between Oxford and Cambridge.
HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd was nominated for Best Onsite Supplier, having delivered 37 years-worth of traffic management in 2023 (more than 13,500 shifts), supporting critical schemes up and down the 80km trace* with agility and flexibility, often at short notice. For example, during the construction of the Chipping Warden Green Tunnel, HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd prepared a team of more than 30 operatives at short notice to work consecutive Sunday mornings to manage abnormal load deliveries.
The project also calls for the management of 107 Public Rights of Way (PROW). To ensure this goes without a hitch, HW Martin has a dedicated team in place headed up by Supervisor Chris Savage to inspect each closed PROW and associated diversion at least once per week. The team are jointly developing a PROW management app with EKFBs GIS department to make this process more efficient.
HW Martin (Traffic Management) has also supported numerous Safety, Health, Wellbeing, Assurance Compliance and Environment (SHWACE) initiatives, often going above and beyond the original scope of work. One such imitative was ensuring all operatives had a body worn CCTV camera to discourage incidents of abuse from members of public. A second was the installation of the Intellicone Smart Closure system from HRS to warn operatives of incursions into roadworks.
In a recent LinkedIn post, Head of Interfaces from EKFB, Anita Solanki, said:
I’m delighted HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd received Highly Commended recognition. Traffic management operations over an 80km stretch should not be underestimated. The associated stakeholder management with consents, coordination to minimise congestion and maintenance of plant out on site, the innovation with remote tracking of traffic lights and solar powered lights to reduce plant maintenance visits is impressive. The teams overcome manage challenges always to find a solution to our complex project needs and help deliver our milestones.
Andy Graham, Operations Director from HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd is the Senior Director Responsible for the EKFB project. He said:
Behind every critical scheme like this, is a great traffic management solution delivered by outstanding people. We’ve established a fully integrated collaborative partnership to deliver what’s needed for the high-speed line. We have co-located teams with EKFB to support continuous collaboration, and to ensure we have the best traffic management compliance set up for every step of the project. This fantastic achievement at the C23 Awards could not have been met without the hard work of every single member of the team, particularly Contracts Manager Garry ‘Oz’ Greenwood, Richard Ridley Contract Manager, 12D Operation Manager Adrian Head and Supervisor Chris Savage.
The C23 Awards are now in their second year and recognise companies working on behalf of the joint venture that promote a ‘One-Team’ ethos. In the award submission, HW Martin (Traffic Management) Ltd were praised for going above and beyond and for making a key contribution to safety, working as One Team to achieve key programme milestones, working flexibly to deliver outstanding quality and minimal disruption at short notice and ensuring local communities are shown respect.
*the outline of the track bed during construction prior to any track being laid.