Cross Valley Link Road (CVLR)

84.8%

Interim Client and Outline Design Award

Client : English Partnerships, Designer: Halcrow Group Ltd

Award presentation for Cross Valley Link Road (CVLR)

CVLR Background

Cross Valley Link Road (CVLR) is key infrastructure for the South West District of Northampton. The scheme will provide a direct 1.45-km road link connecting the A45 Weedon Road from Daventry to the West and the A45 Upton Way / Danes Camp Way heading to Towcester to the south. It will link between residential and employment land being developed on either side of the River Nene floodplain and contribute to the regeneration aspirations of English Partnerships, West Northamptonshire Development Corporation and Northamptonshire County Council.

The new road crosses mostly agricultural land in the floodplain of the River Nene. The route bisects an important County Wildlife Site and a Site of Acknowledged Conservation Value, and the immediately surrounding area is designated to become a Country Park, so the environmental and sustainability challenge is significant.

The Project

The CVLR achieved an “Excellent” in the CEEQUAL Interim Client and Outline Design Assessment, which assessed environmental performance from project inception through to achieving planning permission.

The engineering design is for a Category B road with 40mph design speed and 7.3-metre-wide carriageways, incorporating a three-span bridge across the River Nene and two further flood-relief bridges within the floodplain (requiring the minor alignment of a 150-metre length of the River Nene). Two controlled crossing points will be provided that are suitable for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrian users, and the road lighting is of high quality directional type so as to respect the sensitive wildlife of the site and surroundings. A sustainable drainage system is provided to prevent flooding and minimise pollution, whilst extensive landscaping will minimise the visual impact of the road embankments.



The key issues include:

• Managing road alignment to minimise land take, achieve optimum road design, and maximise developable land.
• Developing an appropriate archaeological mitigation strategy to define the nature and ensure the survival of the known and unknown archaeological resources.
• Keeping the vertical alignment of the road as low as possible, within the constraint of having to ensure that the road is higher than the 1-in-1000-years flood level. This, together with a carefully designed horizontal alignment, will reduce the visual impact of the road and its embankment in the Nene Valley.
• Preparing a landscaping strategy which responds to wildlife interest and environmental constraints of topography and the landscape character of the River Nene corridor, whilst also conserving and enhancing existing features such as hedgerows and significant mature trees, and minimising the loss of vegetation due to construction.
• Developing strategies for the management of the ecological resources and to minimise effects on populations of badgers, bats, otters and birds. Mitigation strategies will be designed to mitigate not only for the impact of the road scheme, but for the potential cumulative effects of the urban development in the South West District.
• Managing stakeholder and public requirements and expectations through a series of meetings, workshops and exhibitions to establish the key issues and constraints, and to determine the best solutions for mitigation.