How APC Civils helped with the challenge of re-opening Cleethorpes safely after lockdown.

Cleethorpes, on the mouth of the Humber Estuary, has a sizeable resident population of 40,000 and a huge visitor economy with over 10 million visitors estimated to visit the town during a summer season. In 2020, there were predicted to be more visitors to Cleethorpes, as holidays abroad have been discouraged due to Covid-19 quarantine rules, and many more people opting to stay in Britain for their summer break.

The local council, North East Lincolnshire, were keen for the town to “open back up safely” after lockdown in June and assumed their duty to protect the public, by assessing the town centre, its pedestrian footfall and traffic flow.  After reviewing space available, a socially distanced pedestrian and traffic management plan was designed to enable adequate social distancing on streets and pavements and reduce traffic congestion, to make their town safer for residents and visitors alike.

With the guidance changing so quickly, North East Lincolnshire Council anticipated a large influx of extra visitors to Cleethorpes and with their regeneration partner ENGIE, commissioned One Way Traffic Management to build protected walkways along the main High Street – St Peter’s Avenue, Sea View Street and Market Street – removing parking bays and creating a temporary one way traffic system.

The team at One Way TM have a long-standing relationship with APC Civils and asked us to work on the project to supply, deliver and install all the concrete barriers required for Cleethorpes and its plan.

The challenge

The council had six schemes to implement:

• Create a one-way system in place between the Mill Road/ Cambridge Street roundabout all the way to the High Street.
• Close all the parking bays, with barriers being put in place to allow more space for people to shop safely on foot.
• Create two loading bays for shops at either end of the street.
• Suspend most of the parking bays on Market Street, with barriers in place to allow people to walk safely as they shop.
• Completely close Sea View Street to traffic to allow safe social distancing for all shoppers on the road.
• The North Promenade needed to be closed to traffic on busier days over the summer to allow for people to walk safely along it, especially with businesses reopening there.

The main challenge for the Council was how to carry out the work with minimum disruption at a time when strict social distancing rules must be adhered to because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council was keen to safeguard the local population in anticipation of the re-opening of non- essential shops on June 15.

How we helped

We transported over a kilometre of concrete barriers using our own haulage fleet in the days leading up to the opening of restrictions. We worked night shifts in agreed phases using our own equipment to install the barriers in pre-agreed places in line with the Council’s plan.

Installation of the barriers was straightforward as they do not require pinning to the road surface and come in smaller lengths making them ideal for intricate work in tight spaces. The use of our lifting equipment and method results in less operatives on site – very helpful in this new socially distanced world.  The installation went to plan and we delivered and installed the barriers quickly and efficiently with minimum disruption to the client and other road users.

When Monday 15 June dawned the shoppers and businesses woke up to a new safely distanced High Street.

Due to time constraints of the planned re-opening of Cleethorpes, the council had not been able to consult with the local community, so Council Members were on hand the following morning to listen to the reaction of the residents. Not all of it was positive and we were asked to return that night by One Way TM to make the necessary adjustments to the barrier plan.

Working flexibly in this way was not a problem for us and is something we encounter on a regular basis.

Working flexibly

The benefit of owning our equipment and barriers,  is the flexibility of service we can offer and a major reason our customers  value our one-stop approach. Our interlocking barriers have an innovative “JJ Hook” system meaning the barriers do not need to be drilled into place when installed.  Our clients benefit as they do not have to embark on expensive resurfacing  remedial works to patch up in the road surface when the barriers are removed.

Our teams can operate safely, observing social distancing as our customised hydraulic lifting equipment means barriers are positioned in a single lift, rotated and tilted accordingly to suit the road surface. There is no need for lifting chains or mechanical grabs or excess operatives on site to connect chains and lifting gear.

“We were so impressed with how efficiently the team at APC Civils were on this important project on our high street and sea front here in Cleethorpes. It was an evolving situation and the team responded so well with some of the changes required. Our approach at North East Lincolnshire has been totally aligned to government guidance on providing sufficient space on the highway for people to achieve social distancing, but also to enable local businesses to get back to business as usual. As businesses have been allowed to reopen in a phased manner, APC’s reactive support has allowed us to deliver additional measures at the drop of a hat.”

Luke Greaves: Head of Highways and Transportation : North East Lincolnshire Council