News on M23 J8-10 smart motorway

We would like to share with you some of the ‘other‘ things we are doing on the M23 SMP

In July, we were delighted to donate £300 to Neuro Kinex kids in Crawley. Kate Thornton-Jones, Fundraising Director said ‘ Our goal is to get kids back to doing what they do best – having fun and exploring the world! Studies have shown that the young are even more receptive to neurological rehabilitation than adults due to their greater neuroplasticity, or in other words the ability for the nervous system to change and adapt.

All donations raised for all our charities is done through our staff and contractors.

www.neurokinex.org

Thank you for Kier's support of Demelza with your kind donation of 123 Easter eggs from the M23, which we used in our annual Easter egg hunt at our Sittingbourne hospice.   I also thought you may like to know that over 800 children took part and we raised just over £4,500.   Demelza provides specialist care and emotional support for children with terminal conditions and their loved ones, so they can enjoy their time together as a family, for as long as they have.  We care for children with a range of different conditions, some of which are very complex and so rare they have no name.  Every year our work is a lifeline to over 750 children and their families throughout Kent, South East London and East Sussex.

We recently won a Considerate Constructors award for ‘Workforce Wellbeing’ Caring for our staff and contractors is important to us and we have monthly guest speakers in to our offices at Godstone to talk about different subjects.

John Roslin from Bowel Cancer UK spoke to our staff about his experience of Bowel Cancer.   John was diagnosed 3 years ago whilst on holiday and is now in remission.  Johns presentation consisted of a presentation, stating facts/statistics, leaflets giving advice on signs and symptoms of bowel cancer. Unfortunately, it can affect anybody at any time.   John captivated everyone in the room and it was a learning experience for all those who attended with plenty of questions raised.

On Tuesday 13 August, at 2.30pm we have invited the Greyhound Trust  to come into Godstone site office to give a brief talk about the amazing work they do in Crawley.  We will be adding this charity to our list for 2019   They’ve come a long way over the last 40 years, and now help over 4,500 greyhounds a year through their volunteer-led branches. Greyhounds are a great breed to have as a pet and provide the friendship and companionship many people look for in an animal. Meet Blake, a 7 month old puppy who together with his brothers and sisters have now been rehomed through this amazing charity

On Tuesday 13 August, at 2.30pm we have invited the Greyhound Trust  to come into Godstone site office to give a brief talk about the amazing work they do in Crawley.  We will be adding this charity to our list for 2019   They’ve come a long way over the last 40 years, and now help over 4,500 greyhounds a year through their volunteer-led branches. Greyhounds are a great breed to have as a pet and provide the friendship and companionship many people look for in an animal. Meet Blake, a 7 month old puppy who together with his brothers and sisters have now been rehomed through this amazing charity

Each year approximately 8,000 greyhounds retire

A greyhound is the original low-maintenance companion animal. They are intelligent and affectionate, laid back and docile. They only need two short walks a day and will happily spend the rest of their time dozing by your side. Greyhounds get along with children, the elderly and can often live happily with other pets.

https://www.greyhoundtrust.org.uk/contact-us

One of our many social events took place in June to raise vital funds for the Air Ambulance

Along with having a great time we raised £500 for our Charity - Kent Air Ambulance.

https://www.westerhamgc.co.uk/Golf/golf-overview.html

Work to install the biggest and longest portal gantry along the M23 in Surrey took place in May. Hours of preparation and planning meant that the M23 closed overnight to install the 500T crane and then ‘sling’ the gantry into place. The new gantry spans the full width of the M23 at over 54 metres in length and weighing in at 100T. Gantries are completely fabricated off site, and “fitted” out with cladding, flooring, and electrical wiring / components to as near complete as possible (where transport restrictions allow); this minimises the work done on site, safety critical working at height, and disruption to the travelling public. The Gantry made its very slow procession from Nottingham accompanied by 2 escort vehicles.  The total tonnage of gantries on this scheme is 440T. The gantry now sits proudly over the M23 at junction 8, testament to great kier and contractor collaborative planning.

Why not watch the video to see for yourself the start of the journey to Gatwick

https://collett.co.uk/index.php/our-story/news/158-m23-motorway-gantry

We have now started work on the Environmental Barriers along the network. We will work our way along the M23

We are building a dedicated lane into Gatwick airport northbound at junction 9 and have now completed the work to construct the Hybrid wall at this location.

On 14 July we completed the final switch from the verges at the Gatwick spur to allow centre reserve works to take place.

On 16 July we did an emergency closure to adjust the lanes at junction 9a to help traffic flow into Gatwick Airport.

Closed Weatherhill depot northbound access road to complete our works through collaborating with Highways England traffic officers

We hold monthly meetings with our stakeholders to agree works

We introduced Common place as a new interactive tool for our residents, stakeholders and all motorists and customers

We were awarded 4 blue stars by Highways England for safety innovations.

We have won 2 awards from the Considerate Constructors for our Ultra site.

We’ve had 3 babies born to staff on the M23 within the last year and 2 weddings.

In September 2019, we ‘switch’ the traffic management on the M23 as we will be starting to work in the central reservation.

More information to follow but there will be closure starting in September to facilitate this.

We hope you all have a wonderful August.