The project
We are proud to be delivering the design and build of road upgrades on a four-mile stretch (6.5km) of the A46 Newark bypass, connecting the A1 and M1.
A critical part of the National Highways investment to make all our major roads safer and more durable, these improvements will help reduce congestion and improve this vital link road. The work involves widening 6.5km of the existing single carriageway to a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction between Farndon and Winthorpe roundabouts near Newark-on-Trent.
Industry-leading collaboration
Since being awarded the contract, we have formed a collaborative team incorporating National Highways and our supply chain. We have gone a step further, taking an industry-leading approach to the way that we have engaged people in the local community, which has been transformational in helping us to create the proposed design for the scheme.
We wanted to listen to the views of local stakeholders as early as possible, so we had the best possible opportunity to incorporate their thinking in the proposed scheme design. It meant that rather than leave public consultation until draft designs had been developed – a process that can take six months, with multiple teams involved – we went out early, in effect with a blank sheet of paper.
We have spent time walking the 6.5km route and listened meaningfully to the views of local people. It’s improved our understanding of local needs and led to multiple benefits in how we designed the scheme. This included better re-use of existing assets, reducing cost, carbon and disruption, and ensured that our documentation was right first time for DCO (Development Consent Order) submission. Crucially, it has produced a scheme that best reflects the needs of local stakeholders.
Once complete, the new road will improve safety, journey times and reliability. It will also help unlock economic growth in Newark-on-Trent and the wider area by improving its strategic and local connectivity. As an inclusive scheme it will also improve facilities for cyclists, walkers and other vulnerable road users.
