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Keel Crossing [opened 18.10.25] - compendium thread


PhilY said:
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Nearly £30k on a temporary surface for one day?!

The Councik keep smugly saying ‘it will be finished on budget and on time’ but won’t say what ‘on time’ specifically means.

The phrase also means nothing good if the timetable and budget aren’t challenging.
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Can’t remember the exact figure, but having it open for that game brought in millions to the city. The exposure was brilliant, so it was more than worth it.
 
I do think that it was the correct decision to open up the bridge for the Rugby because it was a pretty big international event that has showcased the city in an extremely good light.
However I do think that we deserve some indication of what the ‘finishing works ‘ are and roughly when they hope to have it open.
Going from the south side to the SOL on match day has got progressively more difficult all during this year with the work going on at the sheepfolds, increased crowds and also the demolition work on Bridge house making it a PITA to get on the west side of the bridge.
I walked over and back on the day it was open for the Rugby and it’s really going to make a much easier and quicker route to and from the match, is it that wrong to want to know when they hope to have it open !
 
small mythos said:
I do think that it was the correct decision to open up the bridge for the Rugby because it was a pretty big international event that has showcased the city in an extremely good light.
However I do think that we deserve some indication of what the ‘finishing works ‘ are and roughly when they hope to have it open.
Going from the south side to the SOL on match day has got progressively more difficult all during this year with the work going on at the sheepfolds, increased crowds and also the demolition work on Bridge house making it a PITA to get on the west side of the bridge.
I walked over and back on the day it was open for the Rugby and it’s really going to make a much easier and quicker route to and from the match, is it that wrong to want to know when they hope to have it open !
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Yes it is wrong. Why should Volker Stevin give an exact date ?
 
small mythos said:
I do think that it was the correct decision to open up the bridge for the Rugby because it was a pretty big international event that has showcased the city in an extremely good light.
However I do think that we deserve some indication of what the ‘finishing works ‘ are and roughly when they hope to have it open.
Going from the south side to the SOL on match day has got progressively more difficult all during this year with the work going on at the sheepfolds, increased crowds and also the demolition work on Bridge house making it a PITA to get on the west side of the bridge.
I walked over and back on the day it was open for the Rugby and it’s really going to make a much easier and quicker route to and from the match, is it that wrong to want to know when they hope to have it open !
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safcpw said:
Yes it is wrong. Why should Volker Stevin give an exact date ?
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I’m not expecting them to give us an exact date.SCC have had the bridge open , they are the ones I would expect any communication from not Volker Stevin.
I don’t even expect an exact date but now we can see that it’s built , has had people using it albeit just for one day it wouldn’t be inappropriate to get some kind of statement giving us an idea of what it is that needs finishing and maybe a date where they are aiming ( but I understand not guaranteeing) to open.
dancingradio said:
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Thank you , I just wouldn’t have known where to look for that information other than from the council.
 
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small mythos said:
I’m not expecting them to give us an exact date.SCC have had the bridge open , they are the ones I would expect any communication from not Volker Stevin.
I don’t even expect an exact date but now we can see that it’s built , has had people using it albeit just for one day it wouldn’t be inappropriate to get some kind of statement giving us an idea of what it is that needs finishing and maybe a date where they are aiming ( but I understand not guaranteeing) to open.

Thank you , I just wouldn’t have known where to look for that information other than from the council.
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I've been working on the project for 6 months , and the only time frame given has been October , there's never been a specific date.
 
dancingradio said:
You sound very naive to be honest , if a supplier goes bust thats out of anyones control and extention of time would be granted. You cant have contingency for every bit of material on a project if the supplier goes bust to immediately source a replacement.
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Erm, watch who you are talking to mate. He's a lawyer don't you know and quite a big deal.
 
PhilY said:
I’m not looking for an argument - it’s Saturday and a matchday after all - but I find it staggering that you consider yourself empowered with knowledge of what my reality actually is.

In any event, none of this answers why the bridge was not completed months earlier or why there is still no public specific completion date.

Based on (I’ll agree, nothing more than) the observable progress from outside the site, but also my experience, the bridge project seems to have taken far, far longer than it could have done and (coupled with my professional experience over two decades of public sector, local authority procurement) I think it quite likely that the process could have been improved and streamlined. Hopefully the project review team will consider this and identify improvements for the future.

Have a good day. 👍
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As I am sure you are aware the employer has to allow sufficient time to complete the project from a health and safety perspective so has to consider what a bidder considers sufficient time to complete the works. I guess they could have tried to impose a deadline for project completion however I’m sure the bridge contract was awarded before the rugby World Cup was announced.

Moreover contractors always build in float to a project depending on the level of liquidated damages on the project. On this project perhaps the contractors has just been successful and didn’t need all of the project float but equally couldn’t hit the rugby World Cup deadline or the council didn’t want to pay the full cost to accelerate the contract to complete early, who knows.
safcpw said:
I've been working on the project for 6 months , and the only time frame given has been October , there's never been a specific date.
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There will be in the contract between volkers and the council.
 
There was a linked in post from the Council giving an update on the works and what's to do. It said opening date to follow..appears they're getting most of work signed off before being sure of an opening date.
 
safcpw said:
I've been working on the project for 6 months , and the only time frame given has been October , there's never been a specific date.
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Some really impatient people on here wittering on about it.
It'll be ready when it's ready.
A year ago when the middle section was lifted in by the strand jacks -some thought it would just take a few days for it to be welded up.
Absolutely clueless.
 
Plum Duff said:
Can’t remember the exact figure, but having it open for that game brought in millions to the city. The exposure was brilliant, so it was more than worth it.
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The bridge being open earned the city millions?
What would everyone have done without the bridge? Just not found the stadium?
I think people have done a reasonable job of finding it since the 90's, no?

Literally more people have gone to the same stadium every fortnight since, and the bridge has been closed.
 
PhilY said:
I just wonder whether the timetable has been too long. Ideally, the bridge would’ve had its grand opening before the RWC and the season started.

The project seems to have been on ‘go slow’ for months.

Bearing in mind we’d known about the RWC for several years and the bridge works were being commissioned in 2023 I would’ve thought it would have been completed in time for that game.
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The rugby was announced in August 2023
 
PhilY said:
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Nearly £30k on a temporary surface for one day?!

The Councik keep smugly saying ‘it will be finished on budget and on time’ but won’t say what ‘on time’ specifically means.

The phrase also means nothing good if the timetable and budget aren’t challenging.
Click to expand...

Open for the wolves game
 
dancingradio said:
Yeh youve already been told its reality of construction and this isnt a simple project. You are procurement for public sector its not really going to give you much insight into major projects tbh
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No, I’m not.
Plum Duff said:
Can’t remember the exact figure, but having it open for that game brought in millions to the city. The exposure was brilliant, so it was more than worth it.
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Would it have been better if it had been completed and formally opened for that day?
 
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