More roadworks collaboration on the cards, to reduce disruption and accelerate utility and broadband installations.
Internet provider Connexin has become the latest utility company to sign up to the Lincolnshire County Council Street Works Charter.
The charter is an agreement by major utility companies that work in the county, to ensure minimum disruption, maximum traffic flow and a working - together ethos wherever possible.
Connexin made the move to join the charter after being awarded a significant contract to bring fast, reliable gigabit broadband to remote areas of Lincolnshire as part of the Government’s ‘Project Gigabit’ rollout. The contract will see the company upgrade around 14,000 premises across the west of Lincolnshire in the coming months.
Speaking about joining the Street Works Charter, head of F20 at Connexin Paul Coles said: “We are delighted to be working in Lincolnshire to bring futureproof connectivity to the community. Our collaborative approach with Lincolnshire County Council, and other utility providers, will allow us to rollout our infrastructure with minimal disruption to residents.
“For the majority of our network build, we will be using existing infrastructure from other providers where possible. In the more rural areas of Lincolnshire, we may need to install new network infrastructure. The Street Works Charter and our Community Engagement Team will allow us to complete these works efficiently, and with reduced disruption for the community. We look forward to bringing fast, reliable connectivity to the region and opening up more digital opportunities in remote areas.”
Connexin are joining ten other utility providers and companies in the Lincolnshire County Council Street Works Charter, which was launched last year to cut the amount of disruption roadworks cause across Lincolnshire.
The Charter is the work of the county council and has been put together in a bid to cut down both the amount of time a road is closed, and the number of times different utility companies carry out work in the same spot.
Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, Martin Hill said: “The Street Works Charter has been designed so that we all carry out a more joined - up way of planning and working together.
“For too long the people of Lincolnshire have seen road closures where perhaps the road didn’t need to be closed, or traffic restrictions left up when they could have been removed between working shifts to free up traffic flow.
“How many times have we all seen a road dug up for some reason only to have it dug up again in the same area weeks later when another company has other parts of its works programme to carry out?
“We’ve been working at smarter planning and improved relationships with utility companies for some time and things have been improving. The Charter is the next step in bringing us all together to better that improvement even further and this is something I am delighted that we, as the highways authority, have now been able to do.”
LCC’s Head of Client and Contractual Management, Jonathan Evans added: “The Charter will mean that we will see less disruption. Working collaboratively between these partners will mean that the travelling public will see less of us, and that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do here.”
Ashley Behan, Street Works and Permitting Manager for the authority concluded: “On the ground, people will see a commitment from the county council and all the organisations that carry out roadworks in Lincolnshire to focus on completing roadworks in a quicker timeframe.
“Making sure they’re safe, making sure they’re compliant and that people understand what they need to do is a key part of the charter, as is making sure that works are completed as quickly as possible to reduce traffic disruption.”