Winvic was selected as one of 50 contractors in September 2021 to share 拢3.6bn of road renewal works on England鈥檚 motorways and trunk roads over the next six years. For a company better known as a 鈥榮heds and beds鈥� specialist, the appointment cemented its repositioning as a multidisciplinary contractor.
Winvic was selected specifically for Lot 8 鈥� structures, waterproofing & expansion joints 鈥� in four of the six regions.
So when routine inspection of the M62 Ouse Bridge, between Goole and Howden in Yorkshire, identified a partial failure of a joint on the eastbound carriageway, Winvic got the call.
The Ouse Bridge is a 1.6km, 29-span reinforced concrete plate girder bridge that spans the river Ouse. It was built between 1973 and 1976 by Costain.
It was discovered that increased vibration from traffic had started to damage the concrete under lane three and a bridge joint, which allows the carriageway to expand and contract with the weather.聽
A contraflow was immediately put into place, reducing traffic on the eastbound carriage to one lane, to allow temporary works to begin, while a series of overnight road closures during the week beginning 13th June facilitated a second eastbound traffic lane to open on Saturday 18th June to minimise disruption to road users.
An under-bridge inspection by one of Winvic鈥檚 structural engineers discovered excessive deflection within the cantilever deck section under lane three and all traffic had to be removed from this lane.
Winvic installed temporary metal bridging plates across parts of the eastbound carriageway, which enabled a further eastbound lane and the eastbound exit slip road at junction 37 to be reopened on Friday 8th July.聽
Winvic is not working alone. Jacobs is designing the permanent repairs, traffic management is being led by Amey and specialist contractor VSL (a Bouygues company) is doing the actual joint repair and replacement.聽
Together the companies are currently replacing all eight joints across both carriageways. Temporary bridging plates have been installed over the damaged bridge joints as a mitigation measure and a second set will be added this autumn.聽
The two most critically damaged joints on the eastbound carriageway will be replaced by spring 2023 and the project should be fully complete in autumn 2023.
Rob Cook, Winvic鈥檚 director of civils and infrastructure, says: 鈥淲e have been working hard with National Highways and the Yorkshire North East region to mobilise the scheme delivery framework since we were awarded our place on it, so we were able to mobilise rapidly on this project on the M62 Ouse Bridge to begin the necessary immediate temporary works.聽
鈥淲e put multiple interfaces in place with the National Highway team and the other project partners, so we could work as one team, towards one goal with safety as the ultimate priority.鈥�
He continues: 鈥淭he surfacing and bridging plate works have met programme expectations, meaning road users have been able to go back to using multiple carriageways and the programme is in place to install more plates this autumn; while the priority always must be safety, it鈥檚 also crucial that disruptions to people鈥檚 journeys is minimised as quickly as possible and negate the need for full road closures as much as possible.聽
鈥淥nce the permanent solution has been fully designed and fabricated, we will undertake these permanent works, facilitating the long-term safe use of the Ouse Bridge.鈥�
National Highways鈥� SDF
In September 2021 National Highways announced a major procurement overhaul, buying all of its road renewal work through a new scheme delivery framework (SDF).
The agency announced a 拢3.6bn tranche of road work on England鈥檚 motorways and trunk roads to 50 approved contractors over the next six years.
The new SDF replaced the existing contract mechanisms, known as the construction works framework (CWF), design services contracts (DSC) and asset support contracts (ASC).
Approximately 23% of the overall framework value has been awarded to SMEs, National Highways said.
鈥淭he鈥痜ramework鈥痮ffers a blend of鈥痩arge capital鈥痺ork along with smaller specialist opportunities that鈥痬aximises鈥痶he ability for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop a鈥痙irect relationship with National Highways, driving growth within the industry and introducing more innovation,鈥� said a spokesman.
鈥⒙犅� 聽The framework is split into four bands:
鈥⒙犅� 聽Band A - civil engineering and drainage
鈥⒙犅� 聽Band B - temporary traffic management and road restraint systems
鈥⒙犅� 聽Band C 鈥� specialist works
鈥⒙犅� 聽Band D 鈥� design
Within each band there are between two and seven lots. The lots are then subdivided into geographically-focused sub-lots. Award values for the 50 suppliers vary between 拢1m and 拢144m, highlighting how the framework enables SMEs to operate side by side with larger companies.
The 16 lots in total are:
鈥⒙犅� 聽 Lot 1.1 鈥� general civil engineering (super region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 1.2 鈥� general civil engineering (region)l Lot 2 鈥� drainage
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 3.1 鈥� temporary traffic management聽
鈥⒙犅� 聽(super region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 3.2 鈥� temporary traffic management (region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 4.1 鈥� road restraint systems and fencing (super region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 4.2 鈥� road restraint systems and fencing (region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 5 鈥� landscaping and ecology
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 6 鈥� road markings
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 7 鈥� road lighting and electrical
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 8 鈥� structures, waterproofing and expansion joints
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 9 鈥� technology (incl. traffic signals)l Lot 10 鈥� structures, structural services and concrete repairs
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 11 鈥� cathodic protection
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 12.1 鈥� design services (region)
鈥⒙犅� 聽Lot 12.2 鈥� design services (super region)
Meeting the challenge
Rob Cook joined Winvic as civils & infrastructure director in June 2020 having previously worked as regional director (civils & infrastructure) with the Graham Group.聽
His arrival in this newly-created role signalled Winvic鈥檚 determination to make serious inroads into the civils and infrastructure sector.聽
鈥淚t has been a whirlwind of strategic implementation and steady growth and two years have passed quicker than I ever thought possible,鈥� says Cook (pictured right).
Winning a place on National Highways鈥� 拢3.6bn road renewal framework in September 2021 was an important milestone for the company and a vindication of Cook鈥檚 efforts.
鈥淭he tender process was robust as one would expect鈥but] that was the easy bit,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ctober was the start of a huge undertaking to plan, prepare and mobilise, from positioning team members to expanding on tender commitments and policies.聽
鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a stone unturned between then and February 2022 to ensure the framework requirements were met, and boy did we work hard,鈥� he adds.
In April, Winvic opened a dedicated office in Wakefield, just down the road from National Highways鈥� regional office, to serve the client鈥檚 scheme delivery framework (SDF). 鈥淲e began to look in detail at the schemes with the National Highways鈥� project managers, assign design teams where early contractor involvement was possible and talk execution dates,鈥� says Cook.
However, when the damage to the Ouse Bridge became apparent, Cook quickly realised that flexibility and responsiveness were just as important as forward planning:
鈥淟ittle did we know that none of these projects would be the first Winvic undertaking under the framework. Within a month we were asked to turn our attention to an emergency,鈥� he says.
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
