Skip to main content

Modelling software aids highway widening

The Skanska Balfour Beatty Joint Venture has been selected by Autodesk to receive an Autodesk BIM Experience Award.
February 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The M25 motorway around London is being widened with the help of software from Autodesk
The 2296 Skanska 1146 Balfour Beatty Joint Venture has been selected by  685 Autodesk to receive an Autodesk BIM Experience Award.

The companies are being honoured for using a Building Information Modelling (BIM) process to meet the demands of widening 64km of the
188km M25 motorway that
circles London, in preparation
for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The award from Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, recognises 3005 Atkins and the joint venture for “the
exemplary use of a BIM process” to inform decision-making for improved safety; foster better understanding of the design among project engineers; coordinate design disciplines and resolve interdisciplinary conflicts prior to construction, reducing potentially costly errors, and virtually plan production to meet a fast-track schedule while maintaining ongoing operations on a busy highway.

Since 2009, the design-build team has used Autodesk BIM solutions to collaborate on the project, helping to resolve construction issues virtually before they happen in the field. Autodesk software solutions used to support this BIM process include AutoCAD, Autodesk Navisworks Manage, Autodesk Navisworks Freedom, and AutoCAD Civil 3D software.

To help meet the aggressive design-build schedule, the project team relies on a coordinated, accurate design intent model. The Autodesk Navisworks integrated design model helps the team visualise the entire project, including all above and below ground components, as well as nonphysical aspects of the design, such as safety barrier working zones.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bentley and Trimble announce modelling cooperation
    January 6, 2015
    In London and Las Vegas, the message was the same. Trimble, a surveying systems and software developer, and Bentley jointly announced they will pool their resources for product development. The announcement by Bentley in London was made at the same time as Trimble who gave details of the collaboration to attendees at its annual conference in Las Vegas, in the US. Trimble, based in Sunnyvale, California, develops positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics as well as software content specifi
  • Keysoft Solutions buys LANDCADD rights from Eagle Point
    August 17, 2015
    Landscape and traffic software developer Keysoft Solutions has acquired the rights to LANDCADD software from US-based Eagle Point Software. Jeremy Ellis, managing director of Keysoft Solutions, said both the KeySCAPE and LANDCADD suite of landscape and civil design software will continue as separate products for time being. During a three-month plan, LANDCADD customers will continue to receive technical support from Eagle Point, while Keysoft Solutions builds up a sales and support team in Boston.
  • Bentley’s OpenBridge for Cebu-Cordova link
    February 7, 2024
    The OpenBridge software solution from Bentley Systems played a key role in the development of the Cebu-Cordova bridge project in the Philippines.
  • New safer road workzone practices
    September 15, 2014
    In the UK, the construction business Connect Plus Services is implementing new practices that reduce the need for crossings of live carriageways. These practices are expected to save the lives of road construction workers. Connect Plus Services is the company that has the contract to maintain, operate and upgrade the M25 motorway around London over a 30-year period. The contract is carried out on behalf of the Highways Agency. The firm has developed a new method of managing traffic approaching road construc