Highways England boss makes first site visit

The new chief executive of Highways England has made his first site visit.

Jim O’Sullivan, who took over from Graham Dalton at the start of this month (July), visited Costain’s A160/ A180 Port of Immingham improvement project.

Several other members of Highways England’s top team were also present for the visit.

Project members gave the visiting party a comprehensive tour of the project, which got under way in April.

The £50 million contract involves dualling the road, adding several large structures and redeveloping an existing interchange into a gyratory system.

“Our day went extremely well, with complimentary comments being received about the way the site has been set up and how it is operating,” said project manager, Craig Snow. “We received positive feedback and the little things really do make a difference.

“Jim specifically liked the way that we manage the use of mobile phones on sites as he believes that a complete ban is unworkable and sees designated areas as a very mature approach to this issue.”

The use of mobiles is limited to particular sections of the site, to prevent the possibility of accidents between vehicles and personnel engrossed in phone conversations.

Snow added: “He also commented on how well the parties to the contract work together and said that he couldn’t tell from around the table who worked for Highways England and who worked for contract partners.”