THE RECENTLY completed A487 Royal Oak Culvert Replacement Scheme in Newport, Pembrokeshire has been awarded the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Wales Cymru, Alun Griffiths Award for Community Engagement.
Commissioned by South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) and designed by AtkinsRéalis, the replacement and straightening of the A487 Royal Oak Culvert was delivered by Tarmac.
The 10-week culvert replacement works required an 8-week full closure of the A487, representing the longest planned full trunk road closure in SWTRA’s history.
To deliver the works whilst ensuring minimal disruption to local stakeholders, AtkinsRéalis undertook a significant communication and stakeholder liaison exercise. This exercise altered the timeframe of the project moving construction from September 2024 to January 2025, to coincide with the communities’ quietest period of the year for a Trunk Road closure and diversion.
The judges praised the community engagement of this project from both a national and local level. Traffic accommodations were made to allow for both Holyhead Port being out of service for the duration of the project due to storm damage and access to the main shopping street being severed.
In addition to other measures, a shuttle bus service was provided to transport members of the public unable to walk the local pedestrian diversion route, this minimized disruption and ensured equitable mobility and access for all.
Introduced for the first time in 2020 the Alun Griffiths Award for Community Engagement, sponsored by Alun Griffiths, is in recognition of the civil engineering industry in Wales and the work undertaken to engage with local communities while improving infrastructure and/or services.
Sponsored by Griffiths, Ocuair and Kaymac Marine Engineering the ICE Wales Cymru Annual Awards 2025 were held on September 26 in Cardiff. Guests were joined by ICE Senior Vice President David Porter and guest speaker BBC Wales News anchor Jennifer Jones, a Lead Presenter on Wales Today.
Commenting on this year’s ICE Wales Cymru Annual Awards, ICE Wales Cymru Regional Director, Keith Jones, said: “Community engagement is key to the success of many projects. It is important to highlight the benefits of working closely with communities to ensure that infrastructure improvements best serve the key stakeholders.
“Our members look forward to our annual awards each year as they are important in recognising the exceptional projects and schemes across Wales Cymru, as well as the extraordinary people behind them.”
