Project Summary
The £20 million A16 Levelling Up Fund improvement scheme saw a total of five transport projects carried out along the A16 corridor between Boston and Spalding – a key route for the agri-food industry.
In Boston, at the A16’s Marsh Lane Roundabout project, Kilkern was brought in by main contractor Winvic on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council to support the construction of a new dedicated free-flow lane for the A16 northbound.
Kilkern’s scope of works included all earthworks, drainage, ducting, footpath, paving and kerbing up to underside of tarmac.
The works would allow for a dedicated right-turn lane into the Marsh Lane Industrial Estate, making it quicker for freight vehicles accessing and egressing Marsh Lane. An enhanced non-motorised user crossing across Marsh Lane arm was also designed and built.
The work also linked to the Wyberton Low Road Active Mode Improvements which provided cycle tracks on London Road, an upgraded signalised crossing over the A16, and traffic calming measures along Wyberton Low Road with a shared use footpath.
The active travel scheme also addressed the conflict between cycle users and Heavy Goods Vehicles on Marsh Lane through the Riverside Industrial Estate.
Overall, the Marsh Lane Roundabout scheme would reduce congestion, improve safety and future-proof the roundabout for subsequent upgrades.
Challenges
The A16 is a key arterial route and carries a heavy flow of traffic day and night. Traffic management was a major challenge – to strike a balance between insuring safety at all times and minimising the impact of works on traffic.
Due to access restrictions some drainage and duct crossing were undertaken at night.
We were also working next to an existing gas main for part of the new drainage installation, so this work had to be undertaken with the use of a vac-ex under a watching brief.
The proposed drainage design on the A16 didn’t work due to clashes with existing infrastructure so we worked with the client undertaking investigation works and proposing a revised design for acceptance which was successfully implemented. We deploy additional resource to site to reduce the impact on the programme.
Result
Kilkern completed the scheme on time and on budget and delivered the quality expected of us for all project stakeholders. The local community is already reaping the rewards with congestion improving and dedicated cycle paths now created.
