Donna Qualtrough

Said the following about Lincoln Eastern Bypass Scheme Network Rail and BAM Nuttall:

“This team have delivered a particularly difficult project on time and under budget!

These and the many other achievements of this scheme are due to everyone on both sides working together collaboratively and openly.

The Lincoln Eastern Bypass (LEB) scheme was a third party scheme which replaced a small stone arch that was 4 metres wide, with one that is 40 metres wide with the capacity to have a dual carriageway built underneath. The 72 hours planned access in October 2017 was a significant milestone, with the Council and its contractor waiting to commence the bypass underneath on schedule in March 2018.

At one point 2,000 tonnes of stone a day was being brought onto site, and the two 107 tonne bridge beams were brought from Darlington with a police escort. All of this being done while the largest single archaeological project carried out in Lincolnshire was occurring either side of the railway embankment, unearthing finds of national and international significance; with over 200,000+ artefacts dating back to 11,000 BC, and over 700 skeletons. The excavations took longer than expected and so a phased handover had to be negotiated.

The planning and communication between the teams to manage this was exceptional. The team had to cope with change requests from the archaeologists as new or more extensive finds were being uncovered, whilst trying to maintain a tight programme and a fixed possession date. Despite this, the programme was transparent and it allowed the client to be kept informed of the progress.

Storm Brian was scheduled to hit the UK during the planned weekend, and with limited warning the team safely re-planned it’s work and removed the need for a crane (due to the high winds), disassembled the skid track beams and reassembled them using 50-tonne excavators. This allowed for the track to be disassembled, a 600-tonne rail bridge deck to be slid into place underneath, and then the tracks reassembled; with the line re-opening to services on time!

Although faced with many challenges, the relationship between the teams still created an environment that allowed for innovation, and problems were solved relatively quickly and without fuss.

I particularly liked the fact that everyone involved in this scheme had a sense of pride, they wanted to deliver this scheme in professional manner and to a high standard – this could be seen in the safety pledge wall as you walked into the site office, and the fact that the team on site embraced the philosophy of going paperless. New ideas and processes were constantly evolving throughout the life cycle of the project to enhance safety, performance and the well-being of the team.

In June 2017 the site had over 1500 members of the public visit the site as part of an open weekend involving all stakeholders, contractors and the client. Members of the team, and the wider comms teams volunteered to lead tours, host trade stalls, and answer questions. This scheme and the work around it really captured the interest of the local community.

There are a lot of examples where this team tested the traditional methods of how to install a bridge, how to interact with stakeholders, and how to build successful relationships both with each other and whoever they interacted with on the wider bypass scheme.“