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Client
Various - Joint Venture
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Project Cost
£1.5 Billion
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Services
Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS)
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Start Date
March 2016
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End Date
April 2020
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Location
Cambridge to Huntingdon
Location: A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Improvement Scheme 
The Challenge
Once Arbus were awarded the subcontract order of Circa £2.5 million, our challenge was to solely programme, resource and deliver a project of this size and magnitude. We knew this was not going to be an easy task, as the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon scheme, was to provide a vital road transport corridor between the North, the Midlands and the East of England.
It required 21 miles of upgrading to benefit 85,000 drives daily. This project was placed on a construction pedestal as Britain’s biggest road project, with all the construction industry watching from the outside to see how this pioneering project would turn out,
Everything was at stake for Arbus.
Well the challenge was accepted and Arbus set out to provide nothing but the finest first class, no the finest World Class! service. Arbus, who had not long moved premise into a purpose built yard and office, took on additional staff along with purchasing a top quality Vehicle Restraint System installation plant, namely the Orteco crawler pile driver, for post installation on another level.
The Solution
When in full flow, Arbus were providing in excess of on site of 30 men with around 10 site vans, 5 Orteco’s, numerous diggers, lorries and other plant working around the clock on days, nights and weekends. Some sections of the project were more demanding than others as we had to work in amongst the full bore of the A14 traffic.
Arbus were working hard in the background to develop what we believe will be a revolutionary way to install Vehicle Restraint Systems (VRS. Karl Petters, the Managing Director, had developed this system with his many years of experience. Unfortunately, the timing was not quite right to get Smartraft® on at the start of the A14 scheme but it was installed towards the end with approval from the A14IDT & Highways England.
With the vast number of employees working on the A14 around the clock, special attention was needed to ensure their Health Safety and Wellbeing. This was managed and monitored by our SHEQ Manager who made regular trips to the A14.
Arbus walked every section completed to ensure it was ready for the British public.
The Result
Despite the task given to us with this project, Arbus managed to single handedly steer the VRS home and on top of that with early completion! Arbus have learned a lot along the way and it was far from easy.
This case study barely touches the surface of what was actually required to complete a project of this size, but we are fully loaded and ready for the next large project that comes our way.
We would like to thank our Supply chain, who supported us far and beyond what you could expect. Cardinalis concrete who we have used for many years prior to the A14 project provided nothing short of an exemplary service.
