INNOVATION INSPIRATION AND IMPACT - New Civil Engineer - WE REVEAL THE CIVILS FIRMS MAKING THE BIGGEST WAVES - EMAP CDN!
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Future of Skills p29 Edinburgh shop redevelopment p46 Market report p59
New Civil Engineer
J U N E 201 9
INNOVATION
INSPIRATION
AND IMPACT
WE REVEAL THE CIVILS FIRMS
MAKING THE BIGGEST WAVES
Shining a light on effective stormwater management Accelerating urbanisation. Climate change. Extreme rainfall. 3 million UK properties risk flooding from surface water. See how we are rising to the challenge of excessive rainfall. wavin.co.uk/spotlight In partnership with
New Civil Engineer
INFRASTRUCTURE ARGUMENT
NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT
MARK HANSFORD
EDITOR
ight now you need not look too far for doom and gloom. central London stations needed major makeovers. Not least London
R Indeed, this month’s Inside Track is a wall-to-wall tale of
woe with the latest in the Crossrail débâcle (rampant
cost increases laid bare) the obvious stand-out story,
Bridge with its British Construction Industry Award-winning redevel-
opment. The project also untangled complex track layouts with the
help of some pretty hefty new infrastructure – notably the Borough
but High Speed 2 and Tideway run it close with their Market Viaduct and Bermondsey Dive Under. And of course, gluing it
own problems with procurement and unforeseen ground conditions. all together and unlocking extra capacity was a world first – the intro-
“
And while it is fair and proper and right that within our industry we duction of Automatic Train Operation (ATO) overlaid on the European
are open and transparent about the mistakes so that others can learn Train Control System of signalling.
from them, we must also project confidence to the wider world and sell
these projects. Because if we don’t – who else will? That Network Rail is willing to
Crossrail may not be open; indeed it may not now be open un-
til March 2021. And it most definitely is no longer the Fifteen Billion share best practice on what was in
Pound Railway, as the BBC series of the same name liked to call it.
But it is ultimately just one project (albeit a big one). Let us focus the end a hugely successful Thameslink
instead on the seven billion pound railway that is Thameslink, which this
month has launched a learning legacy website aimed at aiding engineers programme is a truly amazing thing
charged with delivering similarly large programmes in the future.
New Civil Engineer has a long history with Thameslink; we first cov-
ered it in a major way back in Spring 2004 when the £3bn project (as
it was then) became one of 10 we as a magazine elected to champi- So yes, like Crossrail, the costs went up. But the project evolved a
on in our “Stop the Cuts” campaign aimed at convincing then chancellor great deal in that time and now it is a piece of infrastructure invest-
Gordon Brown of the value of infrastructure investment ahead of what was ment that is genuinely transforming lives.
widely expected to be a savage Autumn Comprehensive Spending Review. We needed it back in 2004, just like we needed the other nine pro-
Fast forward 15 years and we are there again: seeking to sustain the jects on our list. Ultimately, by and large, the government agreed: eight
case for infrastructure investment ahead of what is widely expected of those 10 projects actually did get approved and have been deliv-
to be another savage Autumn Comprehensive Spending Review. If ered. Projects like Crossrail (yes, it was on the list), the East London
rumour is to believed, nothing is sacred; not Highways England’s nor Line (now London Overground), the M74 widening, the New Tyne Tun-
Network Rail’s five year spending programmes. nel and the New Mersey Gateway.
That Network Rail is willing to share best practice on what was, in Now new schemes need to retain government support: projects like
the end, a hugely successful Thameslink programme that has deliv- Crossrail 2, the Lower Thames Crossing and Northern Powerhouse rail.
ered exactly what it said it would – 24 trains per hour through central There are also a couple still outstanding from 2004. The A303 Stone-
London boosting capacity and new routes across the South East – is a henge tunnel was on the list – a scheme that is definitely still in need
truly amazing thing. of support and positivity. And the other? Well it was High Speed 2. And
The price tag may have crept up from that initial £3bn to £7bn, but there’s a scheme that needs positivity on steroids. Over to you.
it is worth recalling just how complex that programme was. Major l Mark Hansford is New Civil Engineer’s editor
J U N E 2 019 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 3
Contents NEW CIVIL ENGINEER JUNE 2019
MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS
08 News, Comment 29 Future
& Analysis of Skills
08 The Edit: Canary Wharf to
Euston rail link proposed
09 The Edit: Cost cuts for Chelsea
football stadium
11 Inside Track: Crossrail overspends
12 Inside Track: High Speed 2’s Old
Oak Common job in low bid row
13 Inside Track: Changes trigger
Tideway cost increase
14 Inside Track: Steel and glass towers
banned by New York mayor
16 Big Interview: East-West Rail
18 Your View: Structural tests,
getting road repairs right
20 NCE
The civils industry is changing more rapidly than at any time
100
in history. Change is being driven by a government that is
demanding increased productivity from the sector, with
technology seen as the major enabler. But what kind of
people will civil engineering companies need?
30 What are the immediate and 36 How can civil engineers retain
medium term skill requirements their roles in a world beset by cost
for civil engineering consultants? pressures, failures and change?
How the 100 best civil engineering
companies in the UK are viewed by
their staff and what it takes to become a
member of the NCE100 elite
4 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019
Instagram For instant updates follow us:
Twitter: @ncedigital
LinkedIn: new civil engineer
Facebook: ncedigital
Email: newcivilengineer.com/newsletters
45 Innovative
Thinking Live! EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES
Email: nceedit@emap.com
Editor
Mark Hansford
(020) 3953 2821 mark.hansford
Deputy Editor
Alexandra Wynne
(020) 3953 2822 alexandra.wynne
Associate Editor
Emily Ashwell
(020) 3953 2094 emily.ashwell
46 A cramped site and load restrictions LISTEN News Editor
challenged engineers redeveloping an New Civil Engineer’s all new podcast Rob Horgan
(020) 3953 2087 rob.horgan
Edinburgh department store launches 29 May
newcivilengineer.com/podcast Technical Reporter
52 Why is the industry so slow to adopt Katherine Smale (020) 3953 2044
katherine.smale
digital inspection technology?
Reporter
56 SME Interview: Beckett Rankine Connor Ibbetson
(020) 3953 2088 | connor.ibbetson
58 Innovation News
Reporter
Sam S holli
(020) 3953 2086 | sam.sholli
59 Infrastructure Chief Sub Editor
Andy Bolton
Insight (020) 3953 2823 | andy.bolton
VISIT Designer
James McCarthy
Understand the future of rail at our new
james.mccarthy@emap.com
conference on 26-27 June
rail.newcivilengineer.com Graphic Artist
Anthea Carter
ben.anth@lunestudio.co.uk
Technical Editor Emeritus
Dave Parker
ENTER
dave.parker
Showcase your innovations by entering
the New Civil Engineer TechFest Awards CUSTOMER SERVICES
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help@subscribe.newcivilengineer.com
sponsored report on key issues facing the
funding, resourcing and management
infrastructure projects
J U N E 2 019 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 5
Lighthouse
ICE VIEWPOINT
Developing better
infrastructure
delivery strategies
“
ith the commentary Infrastructure Strategy?” a packed How do
W
around infrastructure room debated next steps, with
decision-making in everyone eager for the debate we spread
recent months, it is to move on to practical delivery.
sometimes easy to The UK Government’s Industrial the benefits of
forget the major changes over the
last decade that have improved
Strategy has also recognised the
foundational nature of infrastructure mayoral influence
the system for infrastructure
prioritisation and planning. BY ART WE
in supporting productivity growth.
Another significant change
to other structures
Over that period, the most
notable change has been
MASTER
W H AT W O U L D
was the creation of the Nationally
Significant Infrastructure Projects
in England?
the creation of the National MASTER US (NSIP) regime.
Infrastructure Commission. This From go-live in 2009, the process across wider regions, based on more
went from concept in the 2015 has helped to speed up the planning coherent spatial planning.
Labour Party Manifesto to reality process for major infrastructure These examples demonstrate that
under George Osborne shortly projects and ensured projects could there is a good framework on which to
afterwards, and by 2018, we had a proceed with greater legal and start planning the future. Rather than
National Infrastructure Assessment. political certainty where established arguing for these things, the debate is
Significantly, the concept of an National Policy Statements exist. now about how they can evolve, not
independent advisory board for For example, in June 2018, the vote whether they should be created.
infrastructure prioritisation has by MPs in favour of the Airports These debates include: How do
been taken forward by the Scottish National Policy Statement paved the we spread the benefits of mayoral
and Welsh governments. way for Heathrow to apply for a new influence to other structures in
At a recent All-Party runway with greater certainty. England? What new infrastructure
Parliamentary Group for Devolution, particularly within powers need to be devolved to
Infrastructure event on “what England, has played a major role Scotland, Wales and Northern
should be the in the National too. From 2015, the mayoral concept Ireland? And do they need to think
“
in England has taken off and slowly about regional devolution as well?
gained the ability to deliver on Should the NSIP process incorporate
infrastructure expectations and housing or be used for wider multi-
The mayoral electoral promises, using the power
of the podium.
infrastructure programmes such as
the development of the Cambridge-
concept in One noted example is the role Milton Keynes-Oxford corridor? More
England has taken
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen broadly, is the UK system the best?
played in making and winning the This year, the ICE will be looking
off and slowly gained case for Teesside International to
be taken over and developed by the
at common and best practice
across infrastructure prioritisation
the ability to deliver Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Within this space, sub-national
and planning around the world.
With a better evidence base of what
on infrastructure transport bodies have also been
established for all parts of England
works, we can ensure we build upon
the hard-won gains across the last
expectations to focus on transport strategies 10 years.
6 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019
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MORE
The Edit
NEWS TRANSPORT
BL ACKFRIARS
Sign up for UPGRADE HAD
New Civil ‘A B Y S M A L’ S A F E T Y
THE BIGGEST STORIES OF THE MONTH Engineer’s AT S TA R T
F R O M N E W C I V I L E N G I N E E R .C O M Breaking,
Daily and The safety record at Blackfriars
station in London during the major
Weekly news £7bn Thameslink upgrade programme
alerts at was “pretty abysmal at times”,
newcivil according to a Network Rail health
and safety manager. Network Rail
engineer. senior health and safety manager
com/ Sharon Fink said health and safety
on the site was often “not good
newsletters enough” when the four year project
led by Balfour Beatty began in 2009.
Fink said that safety on site improved
when the client and contractor began
proactively dealing with issues rather
than continuing a “blame game
culture”. This is one of the many
lessons from the Thameslink
programme now available via the
project’s Leaving a Legacy website.
ROADS
KEY STATS H I G H WAY S E N G L A N D
‘ I N D E F I N I T E LY
Canary Wharf in talks with £5bn PA U S E S ’ I I M A J O R
ROAD SCHEMES
government about privately
Estimated
cost of
Highways England has paused 11
funded rail link to Euston Canar y
Wharf to
major road schemes “indefinitely”,
because of concerns that they are not
value for money. The road operator’s
Euston line
chief executive Jim O’Sullivan
TRANSPORT Wood Wharf, a new 3,300 home confirmed that the 11 schemes would
A new underground rail line development to the east of Canary £15bn be delayed for up to five years, after
connecting Euston Station in north Wharf and due for completion in 2023. ruling that investment in the projects
London to Canary Wharf in east The new line would run in an 8.5km Value of could no longer be justified. Highways
London is being considered by the tunnel. It is estimated that it would Highways England has yet to name the projects
government, New Civil Engineer can cost in excess of £5bn. that have been paused, but has
England’s
“
reveal. The proposal to build the line confirmed that all 11 were part of the
was submitted by developer Canary road government’s £15bn road investment
Wharf Group in response to the investment strategy which was launched in 2015
Canary Wharf
government’s call for ideas for and comes to a conclusion in 2020.
privately financed railway projects. strategy Highways England has confirmed that
Thirty schemes were initially
submitted to the government, with Group claims some upgrades could be scrapped,
with others pushed into the next
the list whittled down to 10 in
December last year. In a letter – seen
that the new stretch funding period, starting in 2020. The
five-year programme was supposed to
by New Civil Engineer – Canary Wharf
Group claims that the new stretch of
of railway would ease upgrade 112 sections of road, including
placing the A303 in a tunnel close to
railway would ease congestion on the
Jubilee Line and ease pressure at
congestion on the Stonehenge and upgrading a third of
the junctions on the M25. Of the
Euston following the arrival of High Jubilee Line and ease original 112 schemes, 29 have been
Speed 2 railway services from the finished, 15 are under way and 18 are
North in 2026. It would also serve pressure at Euston due to start before the end of the year.
8 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019
STRUCTURES
CHELSEA
STADIUM
REVIVED?
Designers working on
Chelsea Football Club’s
new Stamford Bridge
stadium are trying to
revive the project by
slashing costs by up to
£500M, New Civil
Engineer can reveal.
Sources close to the
project said alternative
sites are being looked at,
after the project halted
last May with costs
soaring to around £1bn.
The preferred option is
to remain at Stamford
Bridge as it has planning
permission.
STRUCTURES BUSINESS STRUCTURES
HAMMERSMITH SEVEN FIRMS L A R G EST U K
BRIDGE CLOSED PUNISHED FOR CO N CR ETE R EPAI R
A F T E R FA U LT S H AV I N G L AT E J O B A L MO ST
DISCOVERED PAY M E N T P R A C T I S E S CO MPL ETE
Hammersmith Bridge in West London Balfour Beatty, Costain and Interserve The largest concrete repair project
has been closed indefinitely after are among seven major construction undertaken in the UK is nearing
“critical faults” were discovered. firms punished for failing to pay completion, Highways England has
London Borough of Hammersmith and suppliers on time. John Sisk & Son has revealed. Specialist repair teams
Fulham, which is responsible for the been stripped of its Prompt Payment working on the M5 Oldbury viaduct
bridge, gave little details except to say Code accreditation. Balfour Beatty, have completed most of the concrete
the faults were discovered during Costain, Interserve Construction, repairs on top of the northbound
weekly inspections. The beleaguered Laing O’Rourke, Engie Services and carriageway. Work is being undertaken
Grade II bridge has long been in need of Kellogg Brown & Root have all had by Bam Nuttall, Morgan Sindall and
strengthening, but political rows over their accreditation suspended, VolkerFitzpatrick. It is also the largest
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J U N E 2 01 9 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 9
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Inside Track
THE BIGGEST ISSUES OF THE MONTH EXPLORED
Bond Street Station – which is no lon-
ger expected to open at the same time
as the other Central London stations
– is forecast to run £286M over budget,
while significant cost hikes have also
been forecast at Liverpool Street Station
(£227M over budget), Tottenham Court
Road Station (£184M over budget) and
Woolwich Station (£164M over budget).
New Civil Engineer understands that
these costs include lump-sum agree-
ments made with contractors after it
emerged that Crossrail would miss its
December 2018 opening date.
These payments were revealed in New
Civil Engineer in March.
The NAO report comes after a revised
timeline for the project was unveiled,
with the opening scheduled within a six
month window between October 2020
and March 2021.
TRANSPORT Cost hikes on contracts relating to
Crossrail’s rampant cost increases laid bare tunnelling, shafts and portals have also
been reported. On the Eleanor Street
and Mile End Shaft contract, carried out
Huge cost hikes on Crossrail stations and tunnels by a Costain/Skanska JV, a 454% increase
revealed as revised programme is laid out has been recorded, with the cost of the
project ballooning from £46M to £255M.
Big increases have also been revealed
BY ROB HORGAN
on the western tunnels contract (£259M
E
over budget), eastern tunnels (£226M
normous cost increases on every when the contract was originally award- over budget) and the station tunnels
single one of Crossrail’s seven cen- ed in 2011. east contract (£264M over budget).
tral London station contracts have The NAO report concludes: “Whitecha- There has also been a £633M estimat-
been revealed. pel in particular has seen larger spend ed cost hike on the Systemwide (tunnel
Cost hikes of up to 450% of the origi- than anticipated as a result of difficulties track and electrical fit-out) contract,
nal target cost have also been reported building around existing London Under- which is now expected to cost £956M.
on tunnelling contracts as well as signifi- ground and Overground lines and station NAO auditor general Amyas Morse
cant increases in route-wide civil engineer- architecture.” said that Crossrail Ltd’s “unrealistic” ambi-
ing and systems integration contracts. A £395M cost increase has also been tion to stick to a December 2018 opening
In total, public spending watchdog the forecast at Farringdon Station, while date led to “damaging” cost increases.
National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed Paddington Station is now expected to “Throughout delivery, and even as
that costs on “36 main works contracts come in £390M over its original budget. pressures mounted, Crossrail Ltd clung
on the central section have increased, to the unrealistic view that it could
including contracts for tunnelling, civil complete the programme to the origi-
engineering, station construction and nal timetable, which has had damaging
fit-out, and implementing the systems
required to operate the railway and
499% consequences,” said Morse.
“The Department for Transport
stations”. and Transport for London (TfL) must
Work on Whitechapel Station alone
Cost increase at support the new Crossrail Ltd executive
is forecast to bust its budget by 499%,
Whitechapel Station team to get the railway built without
according to figures released by the unrealistic cost or time expectations.
National Audit Office (NAO).
The Whitechapel project – being
£633M “While we cannot make an overall
assessment of value for money until
carried out by a joint venture including Cost increase in system Crossrail is complete, there have been a
Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and Vinci wide fit out contract number of choices made in the course of
– is now estimated to cost £659M. This this project that have clearly damaged
is £549M above the forecast £110M cost public value.”
J U N E 2 01 9 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 11Inside Track
Xxxxx xxxx xxxxx
Crossrail Ltd chief executive Mark came under fire for “downplaying” risks HS2
Old Oak low bid row
Wild said that he was taking the NAO about the project during weekly project
report “very seriously”. updates to London Mayor Sadiq Khan,
He added: “I share the frustration of according to the London Assembly’s
Londoners that the huge benefits of the report Derailed: Getting Crossrail back on
Elizabeth line are not yet with us. A new track. The report concludes that Brown Client accused of accepting
leadership team and enhanced gover- should consider stepping down from his
‘abnormally low’ bid
nance structure has been put in place to role at TfL.
strengthen the Crossrail programme and However, Brown claims to have
put the project back on track. the “full support” of London mayor B Y E M I LY A S H W E L L , R O B H O R G A N
“The new team has undertaken a Sadiq Khan.
B
detailed audit of the outstanding works Transport committee deputy chair
and produced a robust and realistic plan Caroline Pidgeon said: “Going forward echtel has claimed that High
to complete the Elizabeth line and bring Crossrail, TfL and the mayor must be Speed 2 (HS2) promoter HS2 Ltd
the railway into passenger service at the realistic, pragmatic and honest with accepted an “abnormally low” bid
earliest possible date.” themselves and Londoners about any from the winner of its Old Oak Common
The NAO’s findings about management issues that occur and deal with them construction partner contract.
oversite echo the conclusions of a damn- accordingly. They should not be afraid High Court papers obtained by New
ing London Assembly transport commit- to face the music if a big stumbling block Civil Engineer reveal that Bechtel
tee report published last month. threatens the timing of delivery. believes that HS2 Ltd had “clearly
This concludes that Crossrail bosses “Crossrail is a huge and complex reached a conclusion” that the
failed to understand significant risks project and it is understandable that not tender submitted Balfour Beatty Group,
flagged up in an independent review of everything will go to plan. However, we Vinci Construction and Systra joint ven-
the project carried out by consultant must leave behind the days of chasing an ture (BBVS) “was severely under-
Jacobs for Transport for London. opening date and focus on the successful resourced and posed a real risk to the
TfL commissioner Mike Brown also delivery of a new line for Londoners.” safe and timely completion and hando-
ver of Old Oak Common Station”.
In addition, it claims that HS2 Ltd
should have identified the BBVS tender
CROSSRAIL STATION CONTRACT COST HIKES as “abnormally low” and excluded it
from the bid race on that basis.
But HS2 Ltd, rejects Bechtel’s allega-
ORIGINAL FORECAST
COST tions, saying it has the power to adjust
STATION CONTRACTOR TARGET COST
INCREASE the resourcing of the winning tenderer
COST (Dec 2018)
prior to contract award. In particular it
£286M says that there is no basis for identifying
Bond Street Costain / Skanska JV £126M £412M BBVS’ tender as abnormally low.
(277%)
Bechtel lodged a High Court claim
against HS2 Ltd after losing out on
£390M
Paddington Station Costain / Skanska JV £181M £571M the contract to manage construction
(215%)
of the £1bn Old Oak Common station in
west London.
Bam Nuttall / Ferro- The winning bidder was announced
£395M
Farringdon Station vial Agroman (UK) / £239M £634M by HS2 Ltd in early February. The
(165%)
Kier Construction JV Old Oak Common contract remains in
a stand-still period while Bechtel’s
challenge is open.
Balfour Beatty Civil HS2 Ltd took the unusual step of
Whitechapel Engineering / Morgan £549M sharing its evaluation of individual and
£110M £659M
Station Sindall / Vinci Con- (499%) competing bids with all tenderers when
struction UK JV announcing the winning bids.
In particular, Bechtel’s claim centres
Tottenham Court Laing O’Rourke Con- £184M around a question about how BBVS will
£98M £282M structure its organisation to manage and
Road station struction (188%)
deliver the Old Oak Common contract.
Bidders were required to provide
Liverpool Street Laing O’Rourke Con- £227M organisation charts to demonstrate
£147M £374M
Station struction (154%) management capability; and to give
assurance on delivery, as well as provide
£164M a completed management resource plan.
Woolwich Station Balfour Beatty £70M £234M In bid evaluation feedback forms –
(234%)
quoted in Bechtel’s claim – HS2 Ltd
12 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019MORE NEWS
NEWCIVILENGINEER.COM
for six months, Flo had to come up with
Old Oak an alternative design for building the
Common shaft. This involved inserting a sprayed
concrete lined secant piled wall to a
depth of 25m.
Sneesby said this means that pilling
can be carried out from riverbed level
and therefore the cofferdam no longer
has to be backfilled.
But the delay caused by the redesign
means that the shaft cannot be built
before the tunnel boring machine (TBM)
has tunnelled its way to the Blackfriars
site. This means the planned inspection
and maintenance of the TBM will not be
as simple as originally planned.
To mitigate this, a jet grouted
canopy above the point where the TBM
will enter the shaft has been created.
With stable ground above the TBM,
it will be possible to access and main-
tain the cutting heads from within the
expressed “low confidence in the machine without compressed air, before
tenderer’s [BBVS’s] proposal to manage, T I D E WAY it begins the next stage of its drive.
deliver and assure the works”. HS2 Ltd’s
feedback forms also raise “concerns in
Changes trigger cost rise At the King Edward Memorial site,
another cofferdam was to be backfilled
relation to level of resource proposed” to create a working platform. But as the
and conclude that “the [BBVS] consor- backfilling was taking place sheet pile
tium will be unable to effectively manage Two London sites run into walls deflected more than expected.
the works as a united team”. unforeseen problems The cause was found to be thicker, soft
This, Bechtel claims, proves that BBVS alluvium layers than the design allowed
“would not be able to perform the [Old for which meant that the ground had to
B Y K AT H E R I N E S M A L E
E
Oak Common] contract ‘according to the be strengthened for the temporary and
conditions offered’”. Bechtel believes xtensive design changes at two permanent work.
that “were it not for the breaches iden- Tideway sites are to blame for a To strengthen the temporary works,
tified” then it “would have had a real cost increase of £280M on London’s 150, 25m deep CFA piles were installed
chance of being awarded” the contract. super sewer, the company’s chief operat- along the bottom perimeter of the
HS2 Ltd’s official defence document ing officer has told New Civil Engineer. cofferdam with a beam and slab being
submitted to the court denies “each The challenges at Blackfriars in constructed at the top to support the
and every allegation” in Bechtel’s claim. central London and the King Edward sheet piles. Once the ground strength-
It adds that while Bechtel’s bid scored Memorial site in east London were ening is complete, the shaft will then
higher than BBVS in terms of quality, it announced in November last year, be constructed using a diaphragm wall
“scored significantly lower on price”. and the resulting cost hike has been technique.
Consequently, it added that “had confirmed. Again, the shaft will not be ready
[Bechtel’s] bid been ranked first after At Blackfriars the original plan was to before the TBM arrives due to the addi-
the scoring […] it is highly likely that build an access shaft by constructing a tional work being carried out. However,
either [Bechtel’s] bid would have been cofferdam in the river and then backfill as no TBM maintenance is planned at
declared unacceptable and disqualified it to ground level to create a working the site, the tunnel alignment is being
[…] or a further round of bidding would platform from which a diaphragm walled changed to skirt round the shaft with
have been required.” shaft could be constructed. a small connection tunnel between the
However, Tideway chief operating main tunnel and the shaft.
officer Mark Sneesby said that when de- Sneesby estimated that the redesign
tailed design of the diaphragm wall took work for both sites will have cost the
place, contractor joint venture Ferrovial project over £100M each but said the
Laing O’Rourke (Flo) found the action of additional cost is still within the base-
£1bn backfilling and movement caused by the
diaphragm wall construction would cause
line amount of £4bn set aside for the
project. On top of these additional costs,
High Speed 2 Old Oak two Victorian gas mains, embedded 5m Sneesby said more has been spent
Common contract away in the river wall, to rupture. because of Tideway’s decision to
As diverting the gas mains would have transport more materials by river than
required the adjacent road to be closed by road, as originally planned.
J U N E 2 01 9 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 13Inside Track
Xxxxx xxxx xxxxx
AIRPORTS
London’s
evolving skyline Heathrow expansion
programme survives
legal challenge
Judges reject 26 challenges paving
way for procurement to start
BY SAM SHOLLI
H
eathrow Airport Limited’s (HAL)
expansion plans are marching
on after surviving five simultane-
ous legal challenges at the High Court
mounted by rival bidders, environmen-
STRUCTURES talists, London mayor Sadiq Khan and
local councils.
New York City bans tall steel and glass buildings In the end it was less of a survival
as London presses ahead with new skyscrapers and more of a trouncing as judges ruled
against 26 grounds for challenge, with
21 not even held to be arguable.
Despite the ruling, it has not all been
plain sailing for Heathrow’s operator.
Rival expansion bidder Arora Group
“Inefficient” structures fall short of efficiency standards says US mayor has launched the first stage of a consul-
tation on its proposals to expand the
airport, after raising concerns about
BY CONNOR IBBETSON
cle” at 22 Bishopsgate Street has finally HAL’s existing “monopoly position in
N
been topped out, creating the highest relation to the provision of airport
ew York City mayor Bill de Blasio habitable floor in London. operation services and related services
has announced that the city made “The Cheesegrater” also saw an end at Heathrow Airport”. Meanwhile,
famous by the likes of the Empire to a five year legal battle after bolts Greater Manchester mayor Andy
State building and Chrysler building is to fell from the structure less than a year Burnham called for the third runway
ban the construction of energy-sapping after its construction was completed. plans to be halted and be replaced by
skyscrapers. Hydrogen embrittlement was found to expansions at Manchester and Birming-
Blasio slammed tall glass and steel be the cause, with structural steelwork ham airports, with the case for High
structures as “inherently very ineffi- subcontractor Severfield agreeing a final Speed 2 rebuilt around this proposal.
cient” and said existing buildings will settlement and writing off £6M from its HAL will begin procuring construction
face hefty fines unless they conform to books. partners at the end of this year while
strict efficiency guidelines. In Stratford, plans for a 120m, 21,500 construction of the third runway is
Landlords will have until 2030 to cut capacity entertainment dome covered in scheduled to begin in 2021. Contractors
their emissions by 40% with those failing LED panels were revealed by American will be sought for a range of disciplines
to comply facing fines of $1M (£770,000) venues operator Madison Square Garden including demolition, site clearance and
every year. Company. If completed, the venue would utility diversions.
Closer to home, the market for tall rival the O2 in Greenwich. Speaking to New Civil Engineer,
structures continues to grow. In London, Outside London, construction on Heathrow expansion programme direc-
new additions to the London skyline Birmingham’s tallest residential tow- tor Phil Wilbraham said: “Initially we
including the controversial “Tulip er “The Mercian” has begun, with the will be starting with demolition, site
Tower” observation platform in the City 42-storey glass fronted structure due to clearance and utility diversions. Then
and the “Cucumber” residential tower in be completed in 2022. we will go into a major civil engineering
Paddington have been given the On the Continent Danish clothing project which will be around things like
go-ahead by planning bosses and now brand Bestseller has had plans to build earthworks. We have got a lot of earth
await a final sign-off from the mayor a 320m skyscraper in rural Denmark to move around underneath the runway.
Sadiq Khan. approved. It will become the tallest sky- We will be moving roads like the M25,
Elsewhere in the City of London, the scraper in Western Europe, beating the the A4 and the A304. We are moving
project to redevelop the former “Pinna- Shard by 10m. some rivers as well.”
14 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | M AY 2 0 1 9Bringing
structures
to life
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www.rmdkwikform.comRob Brighouse
The Interview BY KATHERINE SMALE
Bringing customer
focus to the
East-West Railway
ob Brighouse is ferently which underpin the project,
R
returning to finish off he says.
the job. “We are a single focus company,”
As managing he says. “The reason why [transport
director of Chiltern secretary Chris] Grayling asked us
Railways from 2011 to December to do this is two-fold: one is to bring
2015, he was in charge of the first that absolute focus to get this built
phase of what will become the new and the other is to look at innova-
railway line between Oxford and tive and new ways of getting things
Cambridge, which runs between built in the UK.
Oxford and Bicester Village. “He has asked us to challenge the
Now he back as chair of the gov- industry norms in terms of financ-
ernment backed, arms-length body ing, maintenance, construction and
tasked with overseeing construction operations and look at what is the
of the second and third phases and most appropriate degree of vertical
delivering the new, multi-billion upgrade of the Kowloon-Canton integration, but all with the objec-
pound project, known as the Varsity Railway in Hong Kong, where he tive of delivering the best possible
Line, in its totality. says the successful use of track pos- customer service.”
As a founding member of the East sessions of no more than four hours Being an arms-length body, he
West Railway Company, Brighouse made him believe UK rail projects says, gives the East West Railway
has wasted no time setting out its could be more efficient. In the UK, a Company the autonomy to do
vision: “big bureaucratic, stuffy possession is typically eight hours, things differently. It allows the
organisations” are out, being “bold, with half of that time for setting up organisation to set up its own
open and trustworthy” is in. at the beginning and clearing up af- processes and take procurement
These traits, he says, will allow ter a job was complete. The second decisions based on what is best for
the East West Railway Company experience was working on the first customers. To capitalise on this,
to make difficult decisions, let it phase of the Oxford to Cambridge he wants to see the supply chain
“share hard truths” with govern- line where engineers prioritised coming forward with ideas for more
ment officials and have a culture of minimal customer disruption. efficient delivery with minimal cus-
“
openness and dialogue. It is a laser focus and thinking dif- tomer impact during the work.
“To my mind, that’s key to “One of the challenges we face
running successful projects,” says is breaking with tradition and
Brighouse.
This ethos comes from decades
One of the getting the market to think in a dif-
ferent way, not being hide bound or
of applying his infectious, enthusi-
asm to make a difference to the rail
challenges we constrained in the normal way,”
he says.
industry. He says two experiences face is breaking with “I want the market to come to me
in particular stand out. The first was and say: ‘this is what stops me from
being project director of a £100M tradition doing a good efficient and quick
16 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019The line will
run from Oxford
to Cambridge
via Bicester
“
job’”.
This includes its approach to What I’m property]”, to try to find a structure
which will work for the supply chain.
KEY FACTS
technology. Brighouse wants to fall
inline with the digital railway agenda.
saying to the Again, because of its autonomy and
distance from government policy, he
He also sees the line as something of
a guinea pig for the recommendations £2bn to market is come and talk believes this is possible.
“What I’m saying to the market is
that will likley come out of the current £3.4bn to us about anything come and talk to us about anything
Williams rail review. This is aimed at that is constraining from putting
Estimated
prioritising passengers’ needs and that is constraining forward your ideas because I want to
financial stability while minimising cost of the find a mechanism to embrace what
disruption. central from putting forward you want to bring without giving away
The project is split into two sec-
tions: western (Oxford to Bedford) section your ideas your IP, and it’s challenging it really
is,” he says.
and central (Bedford to Cambridge). between If it is privately funded, it will
The western section is being con- also look at the right time to bring
Bedford and
structed in two phases, one of which says this will shape the remit for a de- contractors on board. Too soon and
has already been completed. The Cambridge velopment partner to take the project they have to inherit planning risk and
second phase is being built by a joint forward. so the project doesn’t get an optimum
venture of Network Rail, Atkins, Laing “I see no reason why this can’t be solution, he says.
O’Rourke and Volker Rail. This work is privately financed, but should the If they are brought on too
being funded by Network Rail. government choose to finance it in a late when everything has been
The initial remit of the East West traditional way then that’s fine too,” “nailed down”, he says innovation
Railway Company was to build and he says. “That will affect the structur- will be stifled. “As a company, one of
maintain the central section, but ing of a development partner, as if we our biggest challenges is to engage
in a bid to tie the line together, it is are looking for a development partner the private sector to bring their inno-
now overseeing construction of the to help us with private finance, that vation to a point where government
western section as well. The extent will be a very different development risk has been minimised, and I ques-
of the body’s management of the line partner from the one if it’s govern- tion whether the current market-led
post-delivery has yet to be decided. ment funded.” proposals are achieving that balance.”
Cost estimates for this construction However, ripples of discontent The next steps for phase three
phase vary from £2bn to £3.4bn de- about the government’s efforts to will involve bringing on an engineer-
pending on the final route. It could be bring private sector funding into the ing partner to help with selecting
partially or fully funded by the private railway have appeared across the the preferred route option from the
sector. supply chain. five which were published earlier
A decision on funding is expected To reassure third parties looking to this year.
to be announced in the chancellor’s invest, Brighouse says he is looking A Development Consent Order
Comprehensive Spending Review this at the blockers, one of which he de- (DCO) will then follow in 2021 with
Autumn. If the chancellor chooses scribes as an “understandable resis- the aim of starting construction in
the private finance option, Brighouse tance to sharing good IP [intellectual early to mid 2020s.
J U N E 2 01 9 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 17Inquiry into local roads funding and
governance.
Your View
Once again, there is little or no
reference to consideration of the
problems and lack of durability/
performance of the newer forms of
surfacing materials that have been
used to a large extent over the last
15 years or so on the local roads
LET TERS TO THE EDITOR network.
AND COMMENTS ONLINE The use of these materials on
local roads was brought about with
their use on motorways and trunk
roads and the removal of traditional
STRUCTURES RAIL materials from the Highways Agency
NEW STREET’S
@
LIVERPOOL FAILURES Specification, on which most local
highway authorities’ specifications
HIGHLIGHT LACK OF SUPERFICIAL were based.
INTEGRITY TESTING TRANSFORMATION The Highway’s Agency’s IAN
157/11 should have provided
The decision in 2019 by Liverpool Your “Changing Interchanges” enough information to persuade
City Council to demolish two post- article in the May 2019 issue says local highway authorities that such
tensioned in situ concrete viaducts that the reshaped Birmingham New materials were unlikely to perform
(New Civil Engineer, April 2019) St Station “...has reconnected two
that have been “slowly decaying for divided parts of the city....”. Hoorah.
years” since the 1960s, shows the Such a result, if true, may well be
importance of thorough integrity beneficial to those not concerned
testing of any transportation with travelling by train, but for the
structure just after completion of station’s primary function the vast
construction, to provide an essential expense poured into the project
benchmark for all subsequent has delivered precious little by way
management of the asset’s life. of improvement – some much-
The article indicates that this was needed additional escalators and a
not done with these two bridges. rather larger, although somewhat
Therefore the initial pattern of confusing, fragmented and
condition and “condition direction” disjointed concourse.
of the structures, established at the Platform level still resembles
start, were not known adequately. a dingy cellar with diesel fumes
They could have been. noticeable at times and noise from
In most cases in civil engineering idling diesel engines drowning out
we do not carry out integrity testing public address announcements.
enough. Asset management must The quality and clarity of signage
start with a reliable transparent at concourse level is appalling Local roads: Imposed materials
picture of the state of the asset and at the London end of the
and its estimated decay, to know station changing platforms often well on the large majority of their
its reliability and asset life. Large involves going through two sets of network. The reduction in the use
concrete elements can contain many ticket barriers. of surface dressing as a low-cost
hidden defects that take time to Regrettably we will now probably effective maintenance treatment by
reveal themselves. have to wait another generation many highway authorities has also
Hammersmith Flyover had similar for a further go at upgrading the played a major part.
degrees of decay but an essential passenger experience to even match The demise of the County
difference was that the concrete that of the present day retail punter. Surveyor’s Society and its work
was precast, with no doubt better So sad. carried out on research and
quality management. This enabled Alan Fell (M), published technical guidance was
the concrete to be saved, albeit with alanirtonfell@gmail.com brought about with the widespread
significant and costly changes in the externalisation of consultant and
prestressing tendons, and the asset life The Editor, ROADS contractor roles and the often-
and value of the flyover was extended. New Civil MATCHING SUITABLE resulting loss of such an intelligent
This also shows the importance Engineer, client.
of the integrity of the dominant MATERIALS TO ROADS Despite being one of the lowest
Telephone
compressive elements of funded Counties, Leicestershire’s
House,
any structure – essential for Much of the content by the road conditions are assessed as
strengthening to be feasible, 69-77 Paul contributors to the Future of being some of the best, due largely
therefore sadly not feasible in the Street, London, Highways Maintenance report (New to having continued with the use of
Liverpool case. EC2A 4NQ Civil Engineer, April 2019) has also traditional surfacing materials and
Peter Sparkes (M), Email: nceedit@ been expressed to the ongoing surface dressing.
peter.sparkes@aecom.com emap.com Parliamentary transport committee The benefits of individual
18 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019GOOD POINT
GETTING ROAD REPAIRS RIGHT
YOUR VIEWS AND OPINIONS
Responding to Mario Donnetti’s suggestion that repairing is sound. The cutting back should expose the different
potholes is not rocket science (Your View, last month), I would construction layers (if there are any) so that the edges are
suggest that there are some fundamentals missing. stepped to accommodate layers of reconstruction.
The cause of road failure resulting in potholes is Material quality should be such as to avoid segregated
down to inadequacy in road foundation, materials materials to achieve adequate compaction especially
quality and, lastly, methodology in effective around the edges, each edge having a bitumen
repair. seal as suggested. Compaction using just plate
No matter how effective the removal compactors and rollers should be supplemented
of loose material in a hole and correct with pneumatic hand tampers to achieve
placement and compaction of material compaction into the corners and edges.
as replacement, the repair material will I am also frustrated at the futile wasted efforts
just rattle around in the surrounding by local councils on such repairs and hope that
ground if the foundations are inadequate my added pennyworth goes some way to better
and the surrounding material is defective. understanding and quality control.
This is particularly the case where heavy Peter Nicholson (M), pjandsn@icloud.com
lorry wheel loads can just destroy any quick
fix repair. A small additional bullet point might be added in
Any repair methodology should assess the reasons Mario Donnetti’s list concerning potholes. This relates to
for failure and involve the removal of any defective the various metal works (gullies, inspection covers etcetera)
foundation material. This assessment should extend to the located in road surfaces. While these may be placed correctly
adjacent area which will also show signs of distress. initially, overlays are often added while the metal work is not
I agree wholly that the existing road construction material raised and a pothole develops
should be cut back but to the extent that the adjacent material Martin Gillham (F), mpgillham@gmail.com
authorities being able to deal with highway maintenance it represents sparsely populated rural land, is
local conditions, interact with local counter-excellence. not a good solution for the UK.
communities, and innovate through Frank Bedford MBE (M Retd), Here our overriding need is for
excellence will be lost if there is former Leicestershire divisional sur- more capacity. Our cities are much
a move away from local highway veyor, frank.bedford@ntlworld.com closer together than the French
authorities as intelligent clients. If John Trinick (M Retd), former ones which means that there are
there is a weakness in the current Leicestershire assistant director only relatively short lengths on
arrangements it can be remedied (highway maintenance) and former which the maximum speed can
by industry-wide training that head of highway management Scott be achieved. Much more of the
recognises that the client role needs Wilson, j.trinick@ntlworld.com journey will be under acceleration
developed skills equal to those or braking than in France. The
in the consultant and contractor HIGH SPEED 2 countryside between the cities is
sectors, but focused on excellence DOES HIGH SPEED also much more densely populated
and economy of outcomes though than in France making high speed
procurement and supervision. 2 HAVE TO BE LIKE alignments very intrusive on many
The current obsession with very FRANCE’S TGV LINES? more people than a lower design
large contracts and few major speed with its tighter minimum
contractors with subcontractors I agree with Alistair Muir about curve radiuses.
in a supply chain is not serving the inappropriate choice of design The design should have started
the highway maintenance industry speed for High Speed 2 (Your View, with an analysis of what would be
well. Supply chains have additional last month). He is right in that the most appropriate design speed
margins applied at each level in the only reason there can be for for this railway. I am certain that
the chain. It should be recognised choosing the current design speed this would have come up with a
that highway maintenance is not is because it is what the French much lower design speed than that
something that lends itself to have used. used by the French. It would also
massive management and over However what is a good solution have probably provided a much less
complex procurement. It is also a for the French, who needed to expensive solution.
local activity, not a national one. Size join their widely spaced cities Roger Curtis (M retd),
is not a measure of excellence; for separated by great expanses of rogerandalison@btinternet.com
J U N E 2 019 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 19Awards NCE100 Companies of the Year
The NCE100
celebrates the best
civil engineering
firms in the UK. So
what do the entries –
including the results
of an extensive staff
survey – tell us about
what these firms do
well? Emily Ashwell
reports
I
nnovative, impactful, diverse and
technically brilliant: these are
all key attributes of a successful
engineering company in 2019.
And it was these attributes
which the winning firms
– including Morgan Sindall
Infrastructure which was crowned
the NCE100 Company of the Year –
demonstrated in spades.
At the NCE100 awards
ceremony at The Brewery in
London, attended by approximately
500 guests and industry leaders,
the industry celebrated the 10 best
civil engineering companies in the
SIMPLY
UK, as well as the best projects
and initiatives covering 15 awards
categories. Hewson Consulting
Engineers was crowned the best SME
in the NCE100 Trending20 award.
Behind the projects and initiatives
pitched to the NCE100’s 50 judges,
a survey of nearly 7,000 employees
provided the backbone to the
“ THE BEST
More than 80%
of respondents
felt their firm’s digital
strategy has had a
positive impact on the
way they work
20 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER | JUNE 2019READ THE NCE100 GOLD BOOK AT
NEWCIVILENGINEER.COM/THE MAGAZINE
Newtecnic’s Central
Bank of Iraq NCE100 TOP TEN
project highlighted
the firm’s use
of algorithms
The NCE100 is the most comprehensive
to minimise air assessment of civil engineering firms, and making
conditioning use the top 10 is an outstanding achievement
1 MORGAN SINDALL 6 SWECO
INFRASTRUCTURE With the environment increasingly on
NCE100 company of the year Morgan Sindall the agenda, it is fitting that Sweco has retained
Infrastructure puts innovation at the heart of its its place in the NCE100 top 10. This year it
business, disrupting the way it works internally won the Low Carbon Leader category and was
and the way it carries out projects. It won the shortlisted in the Design Innovator, Innovative
Innovation in Project Management, Diversity Operator, and Impact in Energy categories.
Leader of the Year, and Impact in Water
categories. It was also highly commended in the 7 SKANSKA UK
Construction Innovator category. Skanska is determined to reduce its
carbon footprint and is the first contractor
2 ARUP to achieve PAS2080 – the world’s first
Whether improving its carbon standard for managing infrastructure carbon.
management or rolling out new technologies, The company is also committed to tackling
Arup has proved itself to be ahead of the the industry’s mental health problem and in
curve. This year it won the Impact in Urban Living 2018 launched a new Wellbeing initiative. It
award and was shortlisted in the Innovation in was shortlisted in the Low Carbon Leader and
Project Initiation, Low Carbon Leader, Diversity Health & Wellbeing Leader categories.
Leader of the Year and Impact in Transport
catergories. 8 RAMBOLL UK
Ramboll’s work with Transport for
3 NEWTECNIC London’s Northern line has harnessed the
A true disruptor to traditional potential to drive the industry forward, including
civil engineering, Newtecnic prides itself on exploring the potential for building above a
being at the forefront of technology and uses busy, live station. Ramboll was shortlisted for
innovation to drive efficiency. This year it was the Innovation in Project Initiation, Diversity
shortlisted for the Impact in Energy award. Leader of the Year, Impact in Energy, and Design
Innovator categories.
4 WSP
Demonstrating meticulous 9 ROYAL HASKONINGDHV
attention to detail across the board, WSP Netherlands-based, Royal
is maximising housing space in London HaskoningDHV has brought Dutch-style flood
and driving savings in the water sector. defences to the low-lying fens of Norfolk,
This year it was shortlisted for the Innovation applying an innovative, sustainable approach to
in Project Initiation, Skills Leader of the Year, plans for 12,000 new homes in Wisbech Garden
Health & Wellbeing Leader of the Year, and Town. It won the Innovation in Project Initiation
Impact in Water categories. category and was shortlisted in Impact in Water
and Impact in Climate Resilience categories.
5 ARCADIS
Whether delivering a world class 10 BUROHAPPOLD ENGINEERING
Formula One track in Australia, working BuroHappold Engineering is a firm
on a high-speed rail line in California with a solid conscience and a strong desire
or assisting Thames Water draw up its business to improve the planet. It is helping 10, C40
plans, Arcadis is as diverse as it is far-reaching. member cities assess air quality-related benefits
Last year it was NCE100 company of the of climate actions. The firm won the Impact in
year. This year it was shortlisted for the Climate Resilience category and was shortlisted
Innovative Operator, Low Carbon Leader, for Leader in Collaboration, Innovation in
Leader in Collaboration, and Impact in Project Management, Innovative Operator, and
Transport categories. Low Carbon Leader.
J U N E 2 019 | NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 21You can also read
