Heathrow Sky Catwalk

NTS Heathrow Case Study

Providing a full suite of traffic management services around the construction of a ‘sky catwalk’ footbridge outside Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4.

Nationwide Traffic Solutions provided their full suite of traffic management services around the construction of a ‘sky catwalk’ footbridge outside Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4.

NTS were contacted by a reputable crane company who requested traffic management for the month long project. The works were completed in several phases to minimise disruption to traffic and the general public.

The team installed high quality two way temporary traffic light systems, full and partial road closures with diversions, large lane closures with speed reduction signage and contraflow systems. Pedestrian barriers and Heras fencing were also required around the construction site and to assist with crane operation.

For this project our Planning, Design & Consultancy team was fully utilised. Our in-house design team produced traffic management plans for each phase, and our support team were on hand throughout to liaise with the customer and ensure the works ran smoothly.

Safety remains a primary focus for NTS, and it was essential to identify any risks or hazards that may impact the works. A site meeting, site survey, thorough risk assessment and method statement were completed before traffic management could be installed.

Following these procedures a number of safety factors were considered. As the site was outside a busy international airport, a high volume of traffic was anticipated during peak and off-peak hours. The team worked through the night to minimise traffic disruption during daylight hours.

The footbridge under construction stood at a height of approx. 17ft. To facilitate crane works at this height, a full lane closure was installed for the protection of all road users. Operatives took into account temporary delays caused by high winds which prohibited crane operation.

Operative Gav Potts said: “Aside from a couple of delays due to high winds etc the job went really well for us and we have secured further works on the back of the TM we provided.”