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Just before
lunch on Tuesday, 22 April 2008, the Chairman of Norfolk
County Council Michael Cartiss and the Cabinet Member
for Planning & Transportation, Adrian Gunson joined
representatives of Heacham Parish Council and those of
the contractors (May Gurney and Mott MacDonald) to mark
Heacham's achievement of freedom and safety thanks to
the £750,000 A149 improvements at the junction of
Norfolk Lavender.
The new traffic lights and other improvements have
removed an accident site that has chalked up nine
personal injury accidents over a five year period and
have also freed Heacham residents from the battle to
travel in and out of the village during the summer
holiday season when up to 17,000 vehicles a day pass by
on the A149.
This project is particularly remarkable since the
Heacham traffic lights are greener than almost any
others in the UK, thanks to a ground-breaking "Waste
Neutral" approach adopted during the 15-week
construction which also included drainage improvements
and resurfacing work. The May Gurney and Mott
MacDonald team were available to explain the manner in
which the "Waste Neutral" approach assists in the
reduction of waste and control costs as well as reducing
the projects carbon footprint. Key features of the
junction improvements included pedestrian crossing
facilities, controlled access to a private coach parking
area, the latest "MOVA" technology to ensure optimum
signal timings and CCTV to aid traffic monitoring at the
County Council's traffic control centre.
Adrian Gunson, Cabinet Member for Planning &
Transportation, said:
"The new traffic
lights will make life much easier and safer for local
people during the summer season and also for visitors to
Norfolk Lavender. There was considerable
discussion about whether traffic lights or a roundabout
would be better. In the end it was considered that
traffic lights would be better for people trying to get
on to or across the A149 from Heacham.
I am delighted that the scheme has been used to trial
the "Waste Neutral" approach to construction. This
means that as much material as possible has been re-used
without ever leaving the site, cutting down on transport
and waste disposal costs, and reducing the impact on the
environment.
This approach is a natural extension of what has been
happening on road schemes all over Norfolk, where great
strides have been made in the re-use of materials."
Henry Head of
Norfolk Lavender addressed the gathering to compliment
the contractors on the smooth implementation of the
project and for the way they worked in co-operation with
Norfolk Lavender.
Heacham Parish Council Chairman, Julian Geraghty said:
"The Parish Council
are very pleased with the project, it has ticked all the
boxes as far as Heacham's requirements go. It has been a
long time coming, but worth the wait."
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Above (left to
right) - Frank Gower (Project Foreman - May
Gurney), Adrian Gunson
(Norfolk County Council - Cabinet Member for Planning & Transportation),
Michael Carttis (Chairman
of Norfolk County Council)
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Amongst the group above
are Michael Carttiss (Chairman of Norfolk County
Council), Rosalie Montbiot (Borough Councillor),
Colin Rope (Project Designer - Mott MacDonald), Henry Head
(Norfolk Lavender)
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Above
- Members of the contracting team |
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All
enquiries Heacham Parish Council - The Clerk - 01485 572142
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