Contractor Winvic has been appointed by Highways England to undertake widening and roundabout construction works on the A5 highway, as part of a S278 agreement.
The £3.4 million scheme that will facilitate access to the new 18-acre industrial and manufacturing site, Hinckley Park, is located approximately 1km east of Junction 1 of the M69.
The programme of works not only includes the construction of a new 50m diameter roundabout, but also comprises resurfacing works where the trunk road will be widened on the south side. The broadening of the A5 will generate space for the creation a new pedestrian footway on the north side of the road. Additionally, an access off the A5 – 650m east of M69 J1 – will be constructed, which will be for the sole use of a new sub-station.
Winvic is currently undertaking initial earthworks – engineering existing ground levels to correlate with the new works – has begun the drainage programme and is due to start the lane kerb works. The majority of the existing highway drainage will be amended to suit the new road configuration while up-to-date signage and white lining will be realised prior to the scheme’s handover to HE. The majority of the work to construct the roundabout will take place offline to reduce the impact on the road network, with short periods of overnight traffic signals and closures being effected to deliver the carriageway widening and final surfacing works.
The Winvic team started on-site in July and the scheme will be completed and open for use in January 2021.
Rob Cook, Winvic’s Director of Civils and Infrastructure, commented: “Winvic has worked extremely effectively with Highways England on numerous complex schemes, so liaison with the authority throughout the design process and construction works to date has been straightforward and efficient. Ensuring A5 road users are not inconvenienced whilst keeping our workforce safe on a live highway has naturally been one of our top priorities, and I’m delighted to say the scheme is progressing at pace, and on track for completion in January 2021. This project is a great step forward for Winvic to demonstrate that we can work with Highways England on its national frameworks by delivering schemes like this across the highways sector, now and in the future.”
