Decision details

To award a contract for the Meadows Gyratory Major Improvement Scheme.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the award of contract for the works for the Meadows Gyratory Improvement Scheme to the recommended contractor as detailed in the submitted Part 2 report be approved.

2.    That the allocation of up to £646,000 from the Place Development capital budget to meet the funding shortfall be approved.

Reasons for decisions:

The aim of this project was to improve the transport network in Surrey Heath to deliver journey time reliability, increased accessibility, reduced journey time and encourage shift in modes of transport.

The Meadows Gyratory Improvement scheme will deliver the following outcomes:

·         Reduced delays and reduced congestion on this busy gyratory.

·         Improved access to Camberley town centre for all modes of transport.

·         Improved signal crossings and traffic islands to protect pedestrians and cyclists.

·         A positive impact on employment resulting from improved accessibility to make the area more attractive for businesses to invest and help improve the attractiveness of retail and leisure in the area.

·         The scheme will help to enable to generate approximately 540 full time employment (FTE) jobs by helping to fill Camberley’s vacant employment space and contribute to securing around 210 Full Time Equivalent (‘FTE’) at the London Road Revitalisation Area site. In addition, approximately 1,000 transport and storage jobs in the area could be secured as a result of the scheme.

·         The provision of improved pedestrian and cycling facilities will be of benefit to those living in areas of relative deprivation and provide good quality alternative options to the car, using walking, cycling, bus/rail to access areas of employment, retail and educational establishments.

·         The reduction in travel time through Meadows will help improve business and staff productivity caused by less work commuting and driver stress. This will contribute to the increase in efficiency of logistics to local business parks.

The biggest benefits are for movements approaching the roundabout on the A30 to the West of the junction and, in particular, those turning right as those vehicles no longer need to traverse the roundabout. There is also generally benefit for traffic approaching from the A321 as these movements are no longer opposed by the large flow from West to South traversing the roundabout.

A competitive tender for the works for Meadows Gyratory Improvement Scheme is complete. The offer from the recommended Tenderer named in Annex 1 provides best value for money.

The Meadows Gyratory is a key location in the highway network and a critical concern is the impact on the local network during the construction period.  As a result, a decision was taken to delay the works until the completion of the M3 Smart Motorway and to undertake the works at night.  These factors have resulted in cost increases from the original estimates.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Environment and Infrastructure Select Committee]