Engineers and transport planners fear that National Highways could embark on an "infilling spree" this winter to make up for lost time on its heritage railway programme.
National Highways was ordered to pause its controversial infilling programme in July after public outrage at the infilling of a Victorian arched bridge in Great Musgrove, Cumbria.
The pause, which was ordered by the Department for Transport, didn’t completely ban the practice of infilling, which can still be undertaken in certain circumstances such as if the structural integrity of a bridge was deemed unsafe.
However, it did temporarily put the brakes on dozens of planned infill projects until the autumn, by which time “a formalised framework and engagement process for these structures” is due to be in place to understand “whether there is a realistic prospect of it being used for active travel or other transport purposes in future”.
The details of the framework are yet to be made public and campaigners are now concerned that the end of pause could spark a surge in infilling.
Speaking to NCE, HRE member Graeme Bickerdike said: “In terms of this winter, clearly, work has been on hold as a result of the government's intervention since the summer, that will have meant that their major works budget will be facing a significant underspend come the end of financial year, with potentially four months of no work taking place.
“There is probably £1M worth of building work which hasn’t taken place over that period. So they [National Highways] will want to be commissioning as many schemes as they can ensure there is no budget underspend at the end of the year.”
Bickerdike said that there were particular fears for two structures for which contracts were awarded shortly before the enforced pause.
He said: "They [National Highways] have issued contracts for two infilling schemes ,one in Hartford and one in Kent, those contracts were let in July with a total value of £300,000.
“I presume the work hasn't started because of the government intervention but I would imagine they would get underway very soon."
According to Bickerdike there were 134 structures earmarked for infilling or demolition as of December 2020.
Jacobs acts as the 'sole provider' (designer) for the Historical Railways Estate and has recently been reappointed for another seven years. Six contractors will support Jacobs in carrying out any work, including Dyer & Butler and Balfour Beatty.
Following the Great Musgrove infilling, NCE readers expressed “shame” in their profession and called for better solutions to be adopted.
A National Highways spokesperson said: “The Historical Railways Estate (HRE) is an important part of our industrial heritage. We continue to work closely with stakeholders to keep the estate and public safe, safeguard its future, ensure value for money for the taxpayer and re-use the assets wherever possible.
“This is why, where it is safe to, we have paused all future infilling and demolition work, to give further time for local authorities and interest groups to fully consider HRE structures as part of their local plans to benefit walking, cycling and heritage railways.”
STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED : https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/fears-raised-that-national-highways-will-embark-on-winter-infilling-spree-27-09-2021/