The A1 bridge scheme near Doncaster started as a National Highways repair project, originally scoped at around £1.5 to £2 million. It finished at £30 million. Octavius were principal contractor throughout, delivering under the SDF framework, with the scope expanding through compensation events and additional works over several years.
Civcon’s first involvement was in 2024 — preliminary drainage works and structural work to the bridge wing walls. That was delivered, Civcon demobilised, and the permanent drainage design remained unresolved. The plan was to return once it was ready. Six months of chasing a start date followed, with other contractors working on the site in daywork arrangements in the meantime.
In August, Octavius got back in touch. The quality of work on site had become a problem — defects, incorrect installations, work having to be redone. They wanted Civcon back with capable labour. The initial scope was limited: a section of kerbing, stoning, and tarmacing ahead of concrete blocks going into the central reservation, under daywork rates.
It went well. The client’s response was good and the scope kept growing. Central reservation works became continuous — more kerbing, drainage, concrete infill, block placement. Additional elements of the wider project were added progressively as compensation events. By the end, Civcon’s scope covered drainage, civils, excavation, concreting, and surfacing — the surfacing delivered through MVP as subcontractor, managed by Civcon.
Three distinct packages made up the bulk of the work. The 6N specialist infill — an engineered fill material used as a green banking solution with controlled moisture content requirements — was delivered under a shared risk arrangement, with daily assessment of moisture and weather conditions. It ran ahead of schedule. An access road through a farmer’s field adjacent to the site was delivered under a separate compensation event to facilitate those works.
The permanent drainage was the main package. A filter carrier drain with multiple gully connections and tie-ins to the existing system. The alignment was supposed to follow the temporary drainage Civcon had installed in 2024. It didn’t — the bridge footings pushed the line further into the carriageway, which meant excavating through rock. Slower than planned, and nothing anyone had priced for.
Materials added more pressure. Civcon were told what they were building on a Friday and were on site Monday. The specified materials weren’t stock items. Rather than wait, the team kept moving — excavating what they could while procurement caught up, then putting the drainage in once pipes arrived. It kept the programme ticking but created a stretch in the middle of the works that wasn’t necessary.
The site constraints got tighter mid-project. The original layout assumed a slip road closure that would have given decent laydown space. The closure never got approved. The team worked from a restricted area, cycling materials in and out and clearing down between phases. More movement, more time, less room to manoeuvre.
The A1 needed to be open before Christmas. Civcon worked 24-hour shifts across part of the programme to protect that date. It was met.
Quality of the physical work was good across all packages. The commercial picture is still being resolved — a number of work packages progressed without agreed prices, and the final account hasn’t been signed off. That’s an ongoing conversation.
