Welcome Break J33 M1 MSA

Bethell was appointed by Welcome Break to enhance access and egress to be adopted by Rotherham Council at their M1 Junction 33 Rotherham MSA. The scope was later increased to include associated signage improvements on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).

Bethell's role extended from Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) to project completion, with delivery focused on collaborative design and buildability solutions under a Right First-Time approach. The works were completed under a project S278 agreement with Rotherham Council and a supplementary S278 agreement with National Highways.

The primary challenge of the project was access to remote land confined by the A640 and M1 road networks, requiring increased sensitivity around lane capacity and temporary traffic management.

The scope of works for this project is as follows:

Early Contractor Involvement (ECI): Our ECI input was crucial to securing a signed S278 agreement between all parties, allowing road space permitting and removing the requirement for expensive statutory apparatus diversions. In addition, Bethell identified alternative points of connection for the electricity supply to the site and EV facilities, mitigating the need for under track crossings and extensive infrastructure.

Further efficiency gains included:

Design and Buildability Proposals: Bethell worked closely with Welcome Break's internal contractor and external stakeholders to refine the project design and ensure buildability, working simultaneously across the site to move the opening date 6 weeks earlier than previously forecast.

Stakeholder Engagement: Close coordination allowed Bethell to gain an intimate understanding of the stakeholders' objectives, allowing Bethell to ensure project goals were aligned. Bethell fostered confidence with National Highways, Rotherham Council and Sheffield Council, guaranteeing the protection of their networks by ensuring traffic management planning considered all stakeholder impacts.

Phased Delivery and Traffic Management: The work was executed in phases across three discreet locations, providing continuous site access and minimal disruption to the Strategic Road Network (SRN).

Our strategy to achieve this included:

Temporary Traffic Management (TTM): TTM was carefully scheduled and fully approved by National Highways to limit the impact on the SRN, only installing TTM on a “Just in Time” requirement when working within the existing containment.

Smart Motorway Alliance (SMA): The work location required us to interface with the SMA, facilitating the implementation of a seamless coordination operation to ensure that neither work would be hindered by the other as we progressed. This extended to the sharing of TTM during times of signage installation and coordinating with the regional M&R contractor to aid routine maintenance.

Vehicle Recovery Support: During the TTM we provided 24/7 HGV/LGV recovery support to maintain traffic flow and uphold safety, ensuring an optimal flow of peak traffic at all times, especially during times of incident.

Innovative Solutions: The work was completed under a robust Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) with a Quality Plan in place, with procedures monitored and supported by our internal quality team and administered through our Common Data Environment (CDE), GeoPal. GeoPal enabled Bethell to share information with the client within a digital common data environment, ensuring a smooth adoption upon each completed phase by sharing real-time content with SCP and Rotherham Council removing any delays in data transfer.

Value Engineering: Bethell proposed value engineering solutions during the optioneering process, including alternative design proposals to remove two sheet piled walls required to protect NIRTS infrastructure. As a result, Bethell delivered a cost saving of circa £800k in project costs and removed an ongoing maintenance need for the client, as the structure would be adopted by National Highways. An alternative design proposal meant the area was unaffected and the requirements for the intrusive pile installation were removed.

Project Outcome: Despite the addition of extra works expanding our scope, we successfully delivered the project within the original 38-week timeframe.

Our collaborative approach with both Rotherham Council, Welcome Break and local stakeholders ensured:

The completion of this project exemplifies our ability to manage complex infrastructure improvements within tight schedules and budgets whilst maintaining the highest standards of safety and quality.