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HA safety campaign launched with May Gurney project
A May Gurney project with an excellent safety record was chosen for the launch of an annual Highways Agency (HA) safety campaign.
On average, there are between 3-4,000 road workers on motorways and major roads in the UK at any one time. The latest HA figures show that in the first six months of 2006 one road worker was killed and nine were seriously injured.
To highlight the dangers faced by road workers, and to persuade drivers to slow down and respect their safety, the HA has been running its annual Roadworker Safety Campaign since 2001. The HA selected the Attleborough A11 dualling project as one of the venues for the 2006 campaign.
The £20m A11 Attleborough scheme was awarded to May Gurney in 2003. Preparation work to construct the 3.5-mile (5.5km) dual carriageway along the line of the existing single carriageway started in August 2005, and the scheme is due to be completed in spring 2007.
Work carried out to date includes ecological mitigation measures, bulk earthworks, drainage, services diversions, road construction and the construction of new bridges and culverts. The first major traffic switch, to put traffic on part of the new carriageway, took place week commencing 14 August.
Launching the Roadworker Safety Campaign, the Minister for Road Safety, Dr Stephen Ladyman, said: "In 2005, five road workers were killed on England's motorways and major roads, making the motorway one of the most dangerous working environments in Britain. Road workers risk death and injury from traffic accidents every day and drivers must respect their safety."
There are 70 workers on the A11 Attleborough site every day - working next to live traffic - and the safety record throughout the site is very high. To ensure simple, safe and effective traffic management a 40mph limit is enforced along the carriageway. However, some drivers still speed through, putting their lives and those of the people on site, at risk.
Ewan Barr, May Gurney's Project Manager for the scheme said: "May Gurney welcomes the HA's Roadworker Safety Campaign and supports the need to inform drivers.
"Reducing speed is an essential part of road repairs to ensure the safety of all workers on site, and the 40mph speed limit during this scheme is essential to ensure safety. Every time a car exceeds a speed limit another life is unnecessarily put at risk.
"Over the past 18 months May Gurney has introduced its own behavioural and cultural change safety campaign, MAD - which has resulted in a 65% reduction in serious accidents in the last six-month period. Our accident rate is now at the lowest level ever."
Further information is available on the Highways Agency website: www.highways.gov.uk, by following the link from the story on the home page called: 'Safety at Roadworks'.
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A sustainable approach
May Gurney's stated goal of 'Being the best' construction and support services company is accelerating its progress in working with customers to develop more sustainable ways of doing business.
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CIWM Conference 2008
10-13 June
Torbay, Devon
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2007 - an award-winning year more >
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