MORE THAN £15,000 and 550 volunteering hours were spent on local community projects by road workers who have just finished installing emergency areas on the M5 in Worcestershire, writes Mia Whitehouse.
The team completed works including renovating an eco garden at an Evesham school, maintenance of Redditch sports clubs, pothole repairs on Wychbold Village Hall access road and sponsoring the CFC Redditch girls football team.
This followed the ten new emergency areas being constructed between the Junctions 4A (Bromsgrove) and 6 (Worcester) of the M5.
Work began in January 2024 and ended in February this year as part of a National Highways’ programme.
Colin Thompson, National Highways sponsor, said: “We appreciate any roadworks can cause some disruption so we, and our supply chain, try to give a little back to the communities as a thank you for people’s patience.
“Thanks to our willing volunteers, we were able to help out a number of very worthy causes as well as hopefully inspiring the next generation of engineers and highways specialists.”
He added the number of emergency areas on that section of the M5 had more than doubled, providing drivers with more frequent opportunities to pull over should they break down or experience difficulties.
The team in De Montfort School in Evesham helped to enhance the eco garden with a greenhouse, benches, sleepers and plants. Students will be able to grow fruits and vegetables, supporting biodiversity and the 25.8 per cent of students on free school meals.
Gemma Hobbs-Beasley, from De Montfort School, said: “The newly-rejuvenated outdoor areas will not only provide opportunities for physical skills, knowledge and understanding, but will boost confidence and social skills.
“It enables students to be hands on with nature and to improve our mental health and reduce anxiety levels.”
Tree clearance and maintenance works were completed at Redditch Cricket, Hockey, Rugby and Squash Club, including improvements to the car park, rugby pitches and sports club.
David Roberts, from the Redditch sports club, said: “The work has saved the club a considerable amount of time, effort and money, and made a massive improvement to the appearance of the overall club.
“Having this work completed means the small amount of money the club has can be put back into the club to help young teams with equipment and improve essential kit the young children need.”
As well as this, the National Highways team visited 18 different schools and colleges to inspire the next generation into a career in construction.
An M5 Discovery Day was held for Worcester Sixth Form College, with students able to visit the M5 works offices and compound to get first-hand insight into life in the highways industry.
Andrew Fitzpatrick, Worcester Sixth Form College’s senior lead for progression, said: “Many of our students want to apply for degree apprenticeships but they are often limited by their knowledge of industry and the Discovery Day showed them the huge number and variety of opportunities available to them in the Built Environment.”
National Highways’ commitment to deliver £900million worth of further safety improvements nationwide has created 150 additional emergency areas completed across the M1, M3, M4, M5, M20, M25, and M27.
Visit the website at national highways.co.uk for more on the improvements.
