A45 Great Doddington  

Remediation of 3 batter slips to maintain safety and reliability, on the A45 near Wellingborough.

Project overview

The original programme was a hybrid model of 7 weekend closures and 65 overnight shifts. Working closely with our supply chain and the lot contractors, we cut weekend closures from 7 to 5 while still delivering a high-quality project on time and within budget. 

Eliminating 2 weekend closures brought quality and customer benefits: 

• Minimised journey time disruption by reducing closures and use of diversion routes – improving customer safety and residents’ disruption 

• Improved quality by reducing part complete geotechnical work fronts susceptible to weather / rework between successive weekends  

Planned weekend closures 

• 5 eastbound on the A45 J11-12 

• 2 westbound on the A45 J12-11 

(Weekend closure = 20:00 Friday through to 06:00 Monday) 

Actual weekend closures 

• 4 eastbound on the A45 J11-12 

• 1 westbound on the A45 J12-11 

Through collaborative planning we identified a 90m work area on the eastbound carriageway that could be undertaken in parallel with the other. By safely allocating additional resources and maximising roadspace and plant usage, we increased productivity to complete this work package in 4 weekend closures instead of 5.   

Applying learning on efficiencies from our approach on the eastbound carriageway, we completed the 35m westbound package in 1 weekend closure instead of 2.