Staffordshire Area Improvements, West Coast Mainline
About This Project
Headland has in depth experience of providing archaeological input in advance of the construction of many of the largest road schemes in the UK in recent years and we are now transferring our skills in dealing with linear schemes to the rail sector.
Project Summary
The Staffordshire Alliance (Atkins, Laing O’Rourke and Network Rail) is delivering Network Rail’s £250 million Stafford Area Improvements Programme, which will provide improved capacity and performance on the Stafford Section of the West Coast Mainline. In the first instance, our contract has been to monitor topsoil stripping for enabling works including site compounds, haul roads and excavation of footings for temporary bridge crossings, as well as preparation work for re-routing a gas pipeline and excavation of a settling lagoon and attenuation pond. The works involve complex timetabling and effective multi-layered communication across the team.
Project Details
There are three key projects – line speed improvements, re-signalling Stafford station and the surrounding area and the construction of six miles of new railway. This includes a new flyover, road/river/footpath diversions, 10 new bridges and one bridge enhancement, the diversion of two high pressure gas pipelines by National grid and major environmental mitigation works. All of the works require archaeological input. The Health & Safety and environmental implications of such a large and complex project were recognised from the outset and H&S and Environmental management was planned into the work. Headland’s H&S Manager coordinates the production of site-specific H&S documents and we also employ external H&S advisors to assist us in auditing, site inspection and document drafting on major projects like the Staffordshire Area Improvements. We regularly review all our systems and procedures through site inspections and annual external audits (Achilles B2 Verify Audit) coordinated by our H&S Manager and implemented by the H&S Manager and Site Directors.
Client
Network Rail, Atkins, Laing O’Rourke, VolkerRail (Staffordshire Alliance)
Contract Value
£210K to date
Sector
Transport: Rail