Work starts on £32m King’s Dyke rail crossing

Construction officially got underway at the King’s Dyke project this morning (Monday), with a spade-in-the-ground ceremony.
The first spade in the ground was celebrated five months early, as work has now begun on scheme on the A605 between Whittlesey and Peterborough, which was originally due to start by the end of the year.

Work will include building a new road and bridge over the Ely to Peterborough railway line and is planned to open to traffic by December 2022. The level crossing will be permanently closed as part of the work.

Cambridgeshire County Council leader Cllr Steve Count said: “I am thrilled that we are starting work on this vitally important project for the area and five months earlier than planned is a great achievement. This progress has been made despite the recent challenges caused by COVID-19 and while it remains a live issue, I’m glad some of us could get together, socially distanced, to celebrate.”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor James Palmer, said: “It’s great news. Removing delays at the King’s Dyke crossing will unlock opportunity for the north of the county and bring investment, jobs, and homes. That’s why the Combined Authority has given £24.4 million to support Cambridgeshire County Council’s efforts to deliver this scheme. This route is vitally important to Peterborough, but it suffers terrible delays, especially when North Bank is flooded. Separating the road and rail crossing will massively improve train travel between Peterborough and Ely.”

“Sort out King’s Dyke and the A605 bottleneck, then urban development north and south of the A605 in Whittlesey can follow, including 1000 new homes. This northern area will flourish, attracting all kinds of vibrant new growth.”

Cllr Chris Boden, local member for Whittlesey North and leader of Fenland District Council, said: “I am delighted the day has finally arrived and we can tell the people of Fenland and Cambridgeshire that work has started on the King’s Dyke scheme. We have been campaigning for this scheme for almost 50 years and local residents and businesses will soon be able to reap the benefits of this much needed project.”

The project was officially launched by Cllr Steve Count (Conservative, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council) and Metro Mayor, James Palmer (Conservative, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority).
Also in attendance, Stephen Barclay Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire and Chief Secretary to Treasury, Cllr Chris Boden (Conservative, Leader of Fenland District Council), Cllr David Connor (Conservative, Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council Planning Committee) and John Dielhof, Managing Director, Jones Bros Civil Engineers.
Having dug the ceremonial spades into the ground, Cllr Count said: “This is a brilliant day for the local people who have been waiting for this for years.
“We’ve signed the contracts; we’ve got the money in the bank, and today’s the day that the spade went into the ground and we started work.
“There’s going to be some earth-movements over the following weeks and this really is that day that it all starts and by December 2022 we will all be driving over the bridge.
“There have been some false starts with this project – the last of which there was no contract and we said ‘we’re not going to sign that contract because the money had gotten out of control’.
“So, we went out to tender and Jones Bros Civil Engineers have come back with a cracking bid £10m less than we were quoted last time, so we’ve signed on the dotted line, work has started – it’s going to get done!”.
Stephen Barclay Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire and Chief Secretary to Treasury and a long-time supporter of the King’s Dyke project, added: “Today is fantastic news – we’ve campaigning for this for many years.
“Some people said it would never happen, but as you can see the diggers are on site and work is underway.
“As a government we have said that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic we need get Britain building again and this is a really good, visible example of that.
“With construction now underway its going to make a massive difference to people in Whittlesey, Peterborough and across Fenland.
“I know that in the past people have been sceptical of the project, but today just seeing the diggers is the best thing – the work has started, its fully underway and the road, the bridge with roundabouts at either end will be ready and open in December 2022.”
John Dielhof, Managing Director Jones Bros Civil Engineers spoke about the construction itself: “The key element of this project are the difficult ground conditions for the first 400-500 yards.
“That is then followed by the bridge itself which will go over the Network Rail east main line.
“It will be challenging dealing with Network Rail, but we both want these improvements in place and with limited problems.
“Jones Bros Civil Engineering have tendered a bid which is some £10m under that previously quoted, but we will be bringing this project in on-time and on-budget.
“Our reputation as civil engineers is one of bring projects in on-time, and yes, while this job will have its challenges we need to work together with Cambridgeshire County Council, Network Rail to do the job on-time and on-budget – but I don’t see any reason why this will not be opening in December 2022.”

Work has begun on the earthworks which involves bringing in materials to construct the embankment that the new road will be built on and this work will continue through the summer. The main site compound will be built next month and later this year, the focus will be on the structure for the underpass and bridge.

There is a two week closure on the A605 being put in place by Lindum Homes, for their local housing development, on 30 July and Jones Bros will be taking the opportunity to carry out underground utility work at the same time to minimise disruption to the public.

The County Council and Jones Bros have been working hard together to manage the coronavirus situation and all construction activity will comply with the government’s COVID-19 restrictions and national construction site operating procedures. There is a COVID-19 contingency budget to fund any additional costs directly associated with the project caused by the impact of coronavirus.

Jones Bros are on site full-time and will be working alongside the County Council to ensure local residents and businesses are kept informed throughout the duration of the project and any disruption is kept to a minimum.