Working closely with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, DIO Ops Training and the Royal Engineers, Landmarc has completed a major £2.5m project to upgrade tracks and crossings on the eastern side of Salisbury Plain Training Area.
The project was part of a bigger programme to link around 30 kilometres of new tracks, a series of hard-standings and some 18 tank crossings to the Southern Transit Route, enabling safer, more efficient use of the training area by non-tactical traffic, whilst also reducing environmental damage.
Landmarc’s involvement was during the final stages, managing the construction of five tank crossings, 3.5 kilometres of new stone tracks and a new link road in Netheravon Airfield, as well as resurfacing 14 kilometres of existing tracks. The project was delivered using the combined resources of Landmarc regional expertise and specialist contractors and is enabling the Royal Engineers to complete their final sections of tracks.
The project presented a number of challenges, which were overcome through effective collaboration with all stakeholders.
These included:
•Consultation with the Local Authority Highways Department where tank crossings crossed Local Authority-owned roads.
•Managing work around severe weather – laying concrete in winter always presents challenges, especially when temperatures fall consistently below -5oC.
•A requirement to complete the work within the financial year. The Landmarc element began in August 2012 and was completed in April 2013.
•Fitting the work around the brigade strength exercise held early in the year and operations on an active airfield.
•Work was rescheduled and pre-programmed around brigade training exercises as required to ensure the project was delivered on time and in budget within the challenging eight-month time frame.
The successful completion of this project is testament to close working relationships between the client, design consultants, stakeholders, Landmarc’s regional team, suppliers and the project team who worked passionately to deliver these last but critical elements of a much larger project.
“It is worth noting that this was a hybrid delivery route with Debut, Landmarc and the Royal Engineers all involved with delivering packages of work. Landmarc brought a fresh approach to the table with innovative solutions to our problems and I particularly liked their proactive, co-operative and partnering style of management – ‘well done’.”
Robert Barr, DIO SO1 CWRM
“Landmarc’s proactive and pragmatic approach to project delivery ensured they successfully met the demanding timelines required to support the predeployment training programme on Salisbury Plain.”
Nigel Hayward, Senior Manager UK Delivery, DIO Ops Training