More often than you might expect, your utilities construction project is likely to require traffic management. Now what this means, is your underground mains connection encroaches on public land and this process will need to be managed. This public land could be as simple as a footpath closure, or roads much more complex. Think everything from full road closure, lane closure, 2-part lane closure, lane narrows, bus lane suspension, diversions, and temporary traffic lights 2-way, 3-way, 4-way and even 5-way in extreme cases. Fun fact, a “bag off” is the term used to describe when an orange bag is placed over the traffic lights in favour of a temporary traffic light.
We can identify any need for traffic management once we have received your site design plan, which is required at the application stage. From this point, we will apply to the council for a permit. There are different types of permits for different job requirements, and the length of the permit depends on the scope of work involved. Traffic management is the hardest element of a utilities project to manage, as it is completely out of our control. The council can pull permits last minute, and there are often conflicting works. It can also depend, is the road in question a side street or is it a main road.
Health and safety is an important aspect of traffic management. For example, your point of connection might be located below a public footpath. In this instance, you may think that only a footpath closure is required. However, if the road is narrow, the council will supply a permit for a road closure to ensure the safety of the construction workers. Another example, any works within close proximity to a school will be pushed back to the school holidays. This is because the council won’t close footpaths near a school to ensure the safety of school children pedestrians.
There are many more potential restrictions that can occur during the traffic management process. If any works are required on the Transport for London (TFL) red route, you are looking at a near impossibility to get a permit. There are also certain times of year where there are embargos, meaning no works takes place during this time. There can be winter embargos, so construction works don’t disrupt the heavy footfall periods of Christmas markets and Christmas shopping. Think also embargos for certain events, such as the 2012 London Olympics, and more recently the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Traffic management is time consuming work, and we will take full care of it for you when project managing your utilities job. We act as an extension to your workforce, managing your works autonomously and enabling you to have a completely stress-free experience with all things utilities (and traffic management) completely taken care of. Get in touch today to speak to our dedicated and expert team on 0330 041 4925 and start your application process.