Skanska Balfour Beatty, a construction joint venture working on behalf of Connect Plus for the Highways Agency, has won a prestigious sustainability award for its project to upgrade 12 miles of the M25.
At the Construction News Awards 2014, the project to transform the M25 between Junctions 5 and 7 to ‘Smart’ motorway, which included converting the hard shoulder to support permanent running and installing new technology to improve traffic flow, was recognised as that which delivered sustainable economic benefits above other major projects.
The judges commented on the way the project had delivered major cost and time savings to its customer through ensuring that existing structures were retained, that the project was an importer and not an exporter of waste and that over 90% of materials came from recycled or reclaimed sources. They also said that the project delivered a strong commitment to local community with good consultation with local residents and businesses.
Building Information Modelling (BIM) was used extensively to provide real-time information to the construction teams and allowed improvements to the design, maximising environmental benefits and an electronic sign-off system reduced project delays and contributed to the saving of £55 million on initial project budget projections.
Kieran McGibbon, Skanska Balfour Beatty Engineering Director, said: “This project is a really great example of how we at Skanska Balfour Beatty go about putting sustainability into action. It has produced some excellent environmental benefits compared to previous major highway upgrades and generated real economic advantages saving our customer and the taxpayer millions of pounds not only in project costs but in providing better journeys to road users sooner than envisaged.” |