Background
Project Centre designed cycling and walking infrastructure for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) to provide high-quality active travel routes along the Runcorn-Daresbury corridor in Halton Borough.
The scheme introduced new cycling facilities along a 7km route, including junction upgrades and pedestrian improvements throughout. The detailed design package included detailed construction drawings, BoQ and PCI documentation.
Process
We ensured that the LCRCA’s active travel scheme requirements met the communities’ needs and concerns. Our multidisciplinary team worked collaboratively to:
- Deliver outline, preliminary, and detailed designs Provide geometric highway engineering, designing the corridor to provide a safe, direct and attractive cycle infrastructure in line with LTN1/20 guidance
- Traffic modelling, upgrading of priority and signalised junctions, and site surveys
- Develop and deliver an overarching engagement strategy during the Covid -19 pandemic, including webinars, online events and a consultancy platform. We also dropped over 16,000 letters to residents
As part of our commitment to health and safety and quality management, we undertook a series of design reviews. The reviews aimed to identify, eliminate, or mitigate several health and safety risks and project risks. As a direct result of our design risk management process, we identified a significant risk that had the potential to affect health and safety, environment and construction costs.
Through a process of route realignment we designed out the need for a circa 2.5m high retaining wall adjacent to a canal bank which eliminated the risk of undermining the towpath and canal structure. Several large mature trees were also retained as a result of eliminating the retaining wall.
Impact of our active travel scheme
We completed the project inline with the proposed programme and budget. The cycling and walking route design has now been approved for construction and is set to promote active travel in the area, encouraging modal shifts and a healthier lifestyle while improving air quality and reducing carbon emissions.
The overall experience of working with Project Centre has been excellent and they have more than met our expectations on this project.”
John Smith, Programme Development Manager, LCRCA