Client: Esh Civils (On behalf of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council)
Location: Rotherham, UK

Project Summary

The site is located southeast of Rotherham Town Centre, from East Bawtry Road to Fraser Road. The proposed scheme includes a comprehensive range of improvements to promote active travel and public transport routes into the Town Centre.

The scheme introduces a unidirectional cycle lane along the route and bidirectional cycle lanes on Stag Roundabout which creates dedicated space for active travel modes.

The carriageway has narrowed, to provide space for a new bus lane and enhanced crossing facilities to meet the demand. The bus boarding and alighting areas have been upgraded throughout the corridor. Dutch kerbs and raised tables at side roads have been introduced to keep the footway and cycleways a consistent grade for comfort and accessibility.

Lynas Engineers developed the design from concept, through to construction working closely with Esh Civils. The Lynas Engineers team engaged with several disciplines and project services to deliver the multidisciplinary project, such as Highways, Drainage, Road Safety, Traffic Signals, Road Lighting, Arboriculture, Stakeholders and Utilities.

We developed the concept design to promote greater biodiversity by retaining the street lined mature trees and we have retained verges where possible along the corridor. We recognise these features enhance the streetscape and naturally promote active travel through the corridor. We initially consulted an Arboriculturist to determine the health and condition of the trees before proposing to change the cross section to retain trees. Through workshops, local interest group liaison and design development, we are extremely proud to have retained all trees whilst achieving the objectives of the scheme.

Lynas Engineers developed the design to a suitable level of detail to inform ‘C3 Budget Estimate’ and ‘C4 Detailed Estimate’ costs as the project matured. We liaised directly with the Statutory Undertakers and produced detailed level plans, to inform whether their apparatus was affected and by what magnitude their cover levels would be changing, if any. This approach ultimately led to reduced cost and greater cost certainty for our client.

The team brings together a wealth of experience in Active Travel Improvements which significantly promotes the anticipated uptake in walking and cycling within the surrounding area, we have balanced competing interests and proposed a suitable cross-section to enhance the usability and safety of the corridor for all users. We worked closely with SYMCA to establish best practice for bus boarding and alighting, positioning of bus shelters and their size and orientation in relation to the demand and direction of travel. This review included pedestrian crossings and how those movements interact with adjacent cycleways. We held workshops with stakeholders including RMBC’s public consultation team, SYMCA and Wheels for Wellbeing. We received praised for our inclusive design throughout, and for engaging with stakeholders by hosting interactive workshops throughout the project lifecycle.

The scheme drawings below highlight the length and complexity of the project delivered by Lynas Engineers.

Challenges

• We continually improved our proposals in line with valued stakeholder feedback. Stakeholders were given an opportunity to comment on the proposals throughout the design period, which resulted in a need to manage change effectively.
• Significant design development to retain the existing biodiversity along the route, whilst creating a gain in biodiversity where space permitted.

Successes

• All Road Safety Audits, including addendums (following changes to the scheme) were approved
• Incorporating innovation into the design such as the use of dutch kerbs and dutch driveway kerbs to combat undulating levels at driveways, this enhanced the active travel quality throughout the corridor.
• The team were awarded a performance based discretionary piece of work in addition to the core scope..