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Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, construction wages have risen by an average of 11% according to data from a staffing software supplier

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Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, construction wages have risen by an average of 11% according to data from a staffing software supplier

Over the past two years, Crawler crane operators have seen their pay increase by 54% followed by Electrical testers who have seen a 34% increase and steel fixers who have seen a rise of 22%.

The analysis of pay trends since June 2016 was conducted by Engage Technology partners which attributed the pay rise to shifting patterns of migrant labour.

Bradley Post, Managing Director at RIFT Tax Refunds commented: “It’s great to see the rise in construction wages and it’s something we expect to see continue in the coming years. Currently the UK construction industry is facing a serious skills shortfall in the next 10 years. We’re looking at a potential 25% drop in the labour pool over the coming decade and that’s before we even consider the effects Brexit might have.

“Short term, a high demand for skilled labour is likely to mean lower unemployment rates among construction workers and possibly higher wages. The trouble with a shrinking talent pool, though, is you can quickly find yourself with too few skilled hands for your workload. Projects get delayed or cancelled and investors get nervous about putting money at risk. It looks like we’ll be feeling the aftershock of Brexit for the years to come but we’ve always worked closely with the construction industry and will continue to do so to make sure we’re on top of any rules and regulations that may start to change.”

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Two 1,000 tonne bridges to be wheeled into place on A14

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Two 1,000 tonne bridges are set to be slid into place later this month as part of an innovative engineering solution on the £1.5bn A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement job.

The abutments for the two new bridges can be seen just south of the existing bridge and further down on the right of the road, the bridge decks are under construction

The bridges have been built at the side of the road and will be wheeled into place over just one weekend to cause minimum disruption to traffic by joint venture Balfour Beatty, Skanska, Costain, CH2M and Atkins.

Over the past few months they have built four abutments to support the new bridges as well as two 44 metre bridge decks at the side of the live carriageway.

The new bridges at Bar Hill, will be installed during the weekend of 14 September.

They will form a new, improved Bar Hill junction which will connect the A14 to the future local access road between Cambridge and Huntingdon, as well as to the existing local road between Bar Hill and Longstanton (B1050).

David Bray, project director for the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon upgrade at Highways England, said: “Redesigning and building the Bar Hill junction was identified from the start of the project as one of the main challenges we would have to tackle.

“I am delighted that we’ve found a way to build the two bridges while keeping the A14 open as much as possible and disruption for people locally and road users to a minimum.

“And I am also excited that we’re using such an innovative solution to our challenge – that’s what makes my job so interesting.”

The new bridges will ultimately replace the old crossing which will be demolished in 2019.

The team has produced a video highlighting the engineering solution

Video:

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