Long Stratton bypass is officially open, cutting long-standing congestion in the Norfolk town and – with 1,800 new homes planned for the area – future-proofing the local road network. The project to construct the bypass was successfully delivered by Octavius.
Valued at £47 million, the new road was classified as priority infrastructure by client Norfolk County Council. In addition to 4km of single carriage highway the scheme included two new bridges opening up foot and cycle routes into Long Stratton.
“Delivery of this project has been a success on so many levels. Significant social value has been created, meaningful carbon reductions achieved, and the project’s goals fully realised,” said Jamie Harrison, Delivery Director for Octavius’ highways business. Local media outlet the Eastern Daily Press even used a recent editorial to applaud the scheme, “The County Council and its contractor Octavius deserve praise for the way this project has been handled.”
Octavius’ commitment to the communities in which it works saw more than £25 million of local social value added during the project, measured using the Thrive social value platform. This was achieved through Octavius’ policy of using local sub-contractors and suppliers wherever possible, as well as the delivery team’s active participation in community initiatives for the duration of the two-year construction work.
Through a creative approach to carbon reduction, which addressed all aspects of the bypass’ creation, Octavius achieved 8,821 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent savings across the project’s lifetime. This approach to carbon reduction is embedded into the way all of the company’s projects are delivered.
Long Stratton Bypass was majority funded from the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network Fund, with additional finance from developer payments, the Community Infrastructure Levy and Greater Norwich Growth Board.