Clean Air Zone (CAZ) Infrastructure – Camera poles and Gantries

CAZ Camera poles and electrics installation

Fitzgerald were appointed to install new camera poles and electrics at 110 key locations on the A4540 Ring Road in Birmingham to enable number plate recognition for vehicles entering a defined area of the city centre. The scheme forms a part of Birmingham City Council’s introduction of a Clean Air Zone in 2021 which aims to improve air quality and charge a fee to discourage the most polluting vehicles from entering the zone.

The scheme involved excavation of foundation bases and installation of  camera poles, supplying and installing feeder pillars, associated ducting and reinstatement works for WPD electrical supplies and provision of private electrical supplies. Our works also involved coordination of WPD electrical connections and coordination of camera installations by Siemens.

Fitzgerald’s in-house Planner and Site Manager worked together to review and subsequently propose a more efficient methodology for the works to create a safer working environment for our operatives and the general public. We utilised trial hole information and identified 56 locations where the foundation depth for the camera poles clashed with the depth of services. From this we identified that more disruptive excavation works were not required if we changed the base design to 2m x 450mm deep, this also maintained the structural integrity of the camera pole. This improved methodology was achieved in collaboration with our client Birmingham CC whilst meeting the specification and standards of the scheme and resulted in significant cost savings and removed the need to work on the highway for longer than necessary.

 CAZ Gantries installation

The company successfully completed a vital boundary signage installation scheme on the M6 (M) and A38 (M). The Fitzgerald team worked during night-time closures on the inbound M6(M) Aston Expressway and A38(M) to install new signage on 6 No. existing gantries and 1 No. bridge. The signs provide advanced driver notice of the Clean Air Zone that is operational around the A4540 Ring Road. Fitzgerald’s close collaboration with Birmingham City Council and traffic management partner Traffix resulted in safe and efficient working practices and meeting our construction programme.