New road marks success for Watford Health Campus regeneration scheme
The first phase of the £350 million Watford Health Campus regeneration scheme was successfully completed earlier this month, with the official opening of a new road into the 26 hectare site.
The new road stretches for a mile and a half through Watford, providing improved access to the local hospital. It also provides the infrastructure needed to kick start the next phases of the scheme, which will deliver new employment space, over 750 homes, community facilities and retail space.
Work started on the road in June 2015 and the Health Campus partnership worked with VolkerFitzpatrick as contractors to complete the project on time, navigating a number of challenges and ensuring disruption to the local road network was kept to a minimum. The project has also had a big impact on training and employment in the borough with VolkerFitzpatrick employing 121 local people and accepting 11 young people aged 16-24 on work experience placements during the road’s construction.
The road’s construction included the use of 10,000 tonnes of tarmac, 4,000 cubic meters of contrete and 2,500 tonnes of asphalt.
The road was funded with £9 million from the Department of Health – to improve access to the hospital – and a £6 million loan from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
John Horan, project manager at VolkerFitzpatrick said: “It is great to see this vital project being completed that will cut journey times to and from the hospital. During the construction, the VolkerFitzpatrick team has engaged with local residents and young people in offering work placements. We hope that working alongside our experienced team in a live environment will not only benefit their future careers, but also make them consider working in the construction industry.”
The new road was named Thomas Sawyer Way after Captain Thomas Sawyer, of Watford, who died in 2009, aged 26, serving in The Royal Artillery during the Afghanistan war.