Highways Agency

• A3 Hindhead Improvement

A3 Hindhead Improvement

About the Project Team

In March 2002, five companies were invited to put forward their proposals for designing and building the A3 Hindhead scheme. They were required to submit two documents - first a Quality document, saying how they would carry out the work, and then a Financial document, giving their target price for the scheme.

The tender documents were assessed by a team of Highways Agency and Atkins staff and the contract awarded to Balfour Beatty Major Projects. Balfour Beatty won not because their price was the lowest - it wasn't - but because it was considered that they would provide the best value for money and the right quality for this environmentally sensitive scheme.

As main contractor, Balfour Beatty has the overall responsibility for ensuring that the scheme is designed and built according to the Highway's Agency's requirements. The A3 Team is formed of the Highways Agency as employer, Balfour Beatty with Mott MacDonald as designers, and Atkins as the Agency's representative.

The A3 Team's task is to complete the design and take it through the Public Inquiry stage, and then, if Government approval is obtained, to complete construction. The Public Inquiry proceedings were completed on 15 February 2005 and the Government decision is awaited.

Project Aims

The first action of the A3 Team was to establish a set of Project Aims and Values, which are detailed below.

• To deliver value to our Clients by innovation, design development and risk management
• To consider all stakeholders and build a consensus through early consultation and involvement
• To protect and safeguard the environment and our inheritance through early surveys and understanding the key issues
• To eliminate surprises through good communication and a one-team approach
• To bring about the many benefits of the scheme as speedily as possible by dealing with issues early, setting targets and managing achievement
• To develop the team and maintain a positive project image by implementing team development processes and clear external communication strategies

Having now entered the construction phase we have held workshops to update our approach for this new challenge and to integrate new members into the team. Our values have been developed accordingly;

Our Values

• INTEGRITY: acting professionally and being consistent with these six values
• PASSION: showing determination through challenge and resourcefulness
• PRIDE: producing a quality product; being part of one team
• TRUST: trusting first and respecting fellow team members
• OPENNESS: saying what we mean and doing what we say
• CO-OPERATION: communicating effectively and working together

Partnering

Team members from Atkins (the Highways Agency's representative), Balfour Beatty (Contractor) and Mott MacDonald (Designer) and the Highways Agency are now all working together in Grayshott, and are regularly visited by A3 project specialists, such as the members of the environmental team. Partnering and working together will play an important part in the development of the scheme and is an intrinsic part of the way the Highways Agency's Early Contractor Involvement schemes are run.

The Key Players

Contractor Director - Stephen Tarr

Stephen won the 1997 Civil Engineering Manager of the Year Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers, for his contribution on the M25 widening project. He has successfully integrated teams on the M25, M60 and A120 and looks forward to maximising the benefits of involvement in both projects. He is keen to align the A3 project with the corporate objectives of both the Highways Agency (HA) and Balfour Beatty. Managing the process as well as the external issues, is therefore high on his agenda.

Project Director - Paul Hoyland

Paul combines his natural industrious, practical and enthusiastic style with meticulous planning. This has reaped rewards in setting up integrated tunneling teams in Switzerland, working collaboratively with the Health & Safety Executive on Heathrow Express and leading a key section of the Channel Tunnel. He wants to be able to plan, predict and deliver a successful outcome on the A3 Hindhead project. His management style is inclusive and team members, including those from the client, naturally warm to him.

Highways Construction Manager - Nigel Bates

Nigel has a wealth of experience in major highway design and build contracts.  He has good technical knowledge gained from projects such as the M25 Widening Junctions 12-15 and Junctions 8-10.  He adopts a methodical approach to overcome any problems and improve progress on site.  He is very keen that all parties feel involved and work together and has over ten years experience in working with his team.

Construction Design Manager – Stephen Jones

Stephen is an experienced highway designer and project manager who will ensure that the design team delivers a high quality solution that is both innovative and economic. His enthusiasm fits well with the rest of the management team. Stephen has an extensive background in civil engineering both in the UK and abroad, working in the public and private sector for over 25 years and has managed projects that have included: highway design, new build and maintenance, feasibility studies and technical advice to a range of Clients from the Highways Agency in the UK, to the World Bank and European Union on a number of projects in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Designers Site Representative - Dave Hooker

David is an experienced highway, geotechnical and tunnelling engineer with a career to date balanced between the design office and major construction sites.  Previous projects include the Dartford Crossing, Dover and Folkestone Wastewater, the Channel Tunnel, Jubilee line, Heathrow Express, Boston Central Artery and the Highways Agency Area 3 Commission.  David's background and interpersonal skills are ideally suited to this multidisciplinary role.

Engineering / Risk Manager - Marc Bush

Marc has over twenty years experience in major civil and infrastructure projects both in the UK and abroad. The major aspect being in tunnelling and ground engineering in difficult conditions. He also has knowledge and skills  gained as a chief engineer and project manager with a background in design and site engineering.  He has a track record of delivering multi-disciplinary projects with M & E and architectural impact.

Environmental Manager - Dianne Jarvis

Dianne has over 5 years experience as Environment and Consents Coordinator/Advisor/ Manager on large multidisciplinary infrastructure design and construction projects including the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. Other experience as Environmental Consultant covering various sized projects mainly dealing with contaminated land investigations, risk assessments and remediation, and undertaking environmental audits.

Environmental Co-ordinator - Giles Hewson

Giles Hewson is the Environmental Co-ordinator for the project. A Chartered Landscape Architect with over 10 years project management experience in the environmental assessment and design of significant development and infrastructure schemes, his task is to ensure that environmental issues are fully considered as part of the planning and detailed design process for the project. With a strong design background, his key aim is to encourage a co-ordinated and integrated approach between both the environmental and engineering design aspects of the scheme.

Highways Agency Project Team Leader - Paul Arnold

Paul Arnold is the Highways Agency's Project Team Leader in overall control of the project. He has nearly 37 years of experience in design and managing major roads projects. The last 22 years have been spent in project management either with the former Department of Transports SE Regional Office or the Highways Agency since its creation in 1994.

His task is to ensure that the scheme as developed meets the Governments Policies, can be delivered through the Statutory procedures, and at the end of the day is value for money and the right solution to the problem.

Project Manager's Representative - Paul Luft

Paul Luft leads the Atkins Consultants Ltd team that is assisting the Highways Agency in the management of this project. Paul has over thirty years experience in the design and supervision of construction of major highway schemes similar to this one.

He has transferred to the A3 Hindhead tunnel following the completion of the M25 widening project at Heathrow. He Is keen to repeat the successes of that project in terms of minimising disruption to the traveling public and delivering a quality job safely, within time and to budget.

Balfour Beatty Major Projects Highways Division

Balfour Beatty is one of the largest UK and international engineering contractors and infrastructure developers, employing over 23,500 people worldwide, with a turnover exceeding £2.6bn. The division provides a centre of excellence for the management and delivery of large highway projects, drawing on Balfour Beatty's formidable project management skills and the wide range of technical expertise across the Group.

Balfour Beatty has an enviable reputation for the construction worldwide of highway infrastructure and tunnel projects, from the straight forward to the most complex and challenging. Together with specialist in house companies such as Stent Piling and Balfour Kilpatrick mechanical and electrical contractors, Balfour Beatty has the expertise and full range of skills and capabilities needed to deliver the A3 Hindhead scheme.

Its highway experience ranges from construction of smaller new, local highways to the construction of major new motorways such as the M6 Toll and widening of existing strategic routes. In all of them, it demonstrates the adept handling of complex logistics and control of traffic management systems, earthworks, roadworks and structures activities.

Its tunneling experience worldwide ranges from highway projects such as the A20 Roundhill and Limehouse link tunnels through to the railway tunnels for the Channel Tunnel, Jubilee Line Extension and the Alp Transit tunnels in Switzerland.

Mott McDonald

Mott MacDonald is a world-class multi-disciplinary consultancy delivering solutions touching many aspects of every day life - from transport, energy, building, water and the environment to industry, communications, education and social development.

We're a wholly independent, international company with a turnover of £400 million. Our 7,000 staff work on public and private sector developments from nearly 30 centres throughout the UK and from offices in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

We serve national and local governments, utilities, transport authorities, commercial companies, developers, contractors, banks and funding agencies. We stay closely attuned to all our customers' varying needs and aspirations, working in partnership to turn their ideas into reality through planning, design and management services spanning the whole developments cycle.

Landmark projects in Mott MacDonald's current portfolio range from leading all engineering design for London's new Wembley Stadium and Dubai Marina - one of the biggest building projects in the Middle East - to working as part of BAAs integrated team for Terminal 5 programme, managing the East Coast Main Line Upgrade (joint venture with Fluor Daniel) and helping the Highways Agency manage the motorway and trunk road network in central southern England, and the major improvement schemes at Stonehenge and Hindhead.

Atkins

Atkins is one of the world's leading providers of professional, technologically-based consultancy and support services, with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Pacific, and the Americas.

Its portfolio of skills embraces engineering consultancy, design, management consultancy, IT, facilities management, environmental services, project finance, project services, outsourcing, and property services.

It works with public and private sector clients in a range of markets including, rail, roads, telecoms, nuclear, aviation, water, power, process, health, education, and defence.

Highways Agency

The Highways Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, responsible fort operating, maintaining and improving the strategic road network in England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport.

We have regional offices in England. These help us to form close links with our local customers and stakeholders, and to play an active part in the local planning process.

We also fulfill an international role by building good working relationships and sharing experience and expertise with other overseas road administrations. This helps promote the value of UK knowledge, expertise and best practice across the world to support UK industry.

Our role as network operator - managing the traffic using our roads and administering the network as a public asset - has developed rapidly over the past two years. This has given us a greater focus on providing a high level of service to road users on our network.