Michael assigns much of Morrison’s success at the time to the emergence of the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It’s not me.”. But he and Mary didn’t take to life in the big city and their desire to see the world, coupled with a love of the wild outdoors which has endured to this day, nearly saw the Martins emigrate to Canada. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors - A Joint Venture of Hochtief Solutions AG, American Bridge International, Dragados, S.A. and Galliford Try Infrastructure Limited (Trading as Morrison Construction) 3. The Morrison Group was purchased by Anglian Water Group (AWG) in 2000. And that is exactly what we’ve got here. The opportunity to travel had always been a major draw to the engineering profession for Michael. What civil engineer wouldn’t want to be involved? A great evening!”. Amongst all the complexities and technical challenges, we should remember that during construction the bridge deck itself is going to be the longest free cantilever cable stayed bridge in the world. “A job like this demands the best expertise available in our industry, globally. The takeover was a difficult one and Michael soon found himself the only member of the old Morrison Board left at AWG. related. Forth Crossing Constructors built the £768m Oresund Bridge, which forms part of the Oresund link connection between Denmark and Sweden, and are currently replacing the eastern span of the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. The new bridge is critical to maintaining the vital cross-Forth connection in the Scottish transport network. The list of abbreviations related to FCBC - Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors Longest 3-tower. He helped us speak to the receptionist and paid for us in roubles because dollars, which were all we had, were an illegal currency. One for wholly unexpected reasons. They are to submit a … How about working on this bridge job in the Highlands?”. For the first time, Morrison was operating on international soil and soon became the only British company to pick up reconstruction work in Kuwait following the first Gulf War. Ove Arup produced around 40 drawings for the construction, whereas in the engineering department we had to produce over 350 further drawings to give site personnel clear guidance on what to do. Potable water capacity 100 tonnes. Around this time, Morrison acquired Shand Construction, an English company with a subsidiary office in the Middle East. Client: Forth Crossing Bridge Contractors (FCBC). Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), the contract-winning consortium, ultimately helped deliver the bridge for even less. The only thing more complex might be putting a motorway through a city centre but for a rural location, which is what it really is, it’s as hard as it gets. Amongst a variety of large projects at home and abroad, he perhaps has a particular track record in Scottish bridges, past projects on his CV numbering the Kessock, Dornoch and the smaller but no less challenging Kylesku Bridges. “There is no doubt that Sir Fraser Morrison, Chairman of Morrison, was the first industry leader to recognize the potential of PFI,” says Michael. The work included water and sewerage repairs as well as the reconstruction of harbours and airports. For all these reasons, I couldn’t stand back from this role.”. Both are major bridges in the country’s strategic road network, even if the scale has grown commensurate with Michael’s career and experience. Morrison have been there ever since and have carried out some fantastically interesting projects in the harshest of environments.”. Carlisle-born Michael assumed the leadership of the FCBC (Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors) joint venture at the end of 2014 after previous Project Director, Carlo Germani, moved on to a major infrastructure project in Qatar. By 2005, it had become clear that AWG was heading for a major structural reorganisation taking it back to its regulated water company roots and divesting it of its other businesses. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) an international consortium consisting of Hochtief Solutions, 250 tonnes sheltered waters, 150 tonnes coastal waters. I learned a hell of a lot on Kylesku.”. “I remember looking at the jobs pages with these marvellous salaries of up to £3,000 a year! There’s been a whole world in between, but there’s a satisfying symmetry to Michael’s journey from the Kessock Bridge to the Queensferry Crossing. Try as we might to blend in, we stood out like sore thumbs.”, A little later, Russian hospitality kicked in. A bridge to the future. Up till then, I had sort of been playing, but now this thing had to be built.”. “We found ourselves stranded in St Petersburg without a visa and the next flight to Baku wasn’t until the following night. The £2.3 billion ‘second’ Forth crossing currently undergoing construction will create an iconic new structure to the west of the existing Suspension bridge that was built in the 1960s. On the same evening, the Queensferry Crossing project won two additional awards. I know how important it is for them. All you have to do is bend down and pick it up.”. The complexity of the – admittedly beautiful – curved design was remarkable. The contract to build the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary was also won during this period. The design-build contractor was Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, a joint venture of Hochtief Construction AG (28% ownership), American Bridge International (28%), Dragados SA (28%) and Morrison Construction (16%). I really fancied travelling the world. It wasn’t exactly what my wife, Mary, and I had planned for the next three years, but we both knew I would always have regretted shying away and not standing up to the challenge. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) was selected to complete the project– an international consortium consisting of Hochtief from Germany, American Bridge from the USA, Dragados from Spain and Morrison Construction from Scotland, part of the Galliford Try Group. “They used to say there,” recalls Michael, “that responsibility is everywhere at Ove Arup. It will be a bridge in which people can take pride for generations to come.”. Reviews from Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors employees about Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors culture, salaries, benefits, work-life balance, management, job security, and more. The first visit involved a stopover in Moscow where Michael got to see the Kremlin and Red Square just a week after the famous attempted 1991 coup against President Gorbachev when tanks had entered Red Square to quell the rebellion. It also saw Morrison working in joint venture with partners Christiani Neilson, an experience which has stood Michael in very good stead in the many JVs he has managed since. And the bridge isn’t the only challenge. The advice was “Look, lad, Canada’s a bit drastic if you just want to live in the countryside. The bridge’s towers stand over 200 metres tall, making it the highest bridge in the UK. I was responsible for the temporary works design for the tender and I remember during the celebrations when we won the contract one of the directors saying to me “Aye, well done, but now you’ve got to build it!” That really struck home to me. This forms the centrepiece of a major upgrade to the cross-Forth transport corridor in the east of Scotland, representing a total Scottish Government investment of over £1.3 billion. AWG were very supportive of me during my time with them, but, looking back and despite my achievements at AWG, it had been disappointing to get on the board of the Morrison Group only for the picture to change so much in a relatively short time.”, There were some advantages to retirement: time spent in the great outdoors indulging his great passion for salmon fishing, for example, or out on the golf course where his handicap got down as far as 9 (“It’s not that any more, but I have kept the certificate proving it was as low as that once!”). Largely free of other work commitments, he had been able to stay very close to the Queensferry Crossing Project and was already a familiar face on site. After a short spell doing estimation for temporary works, a project to build a bridge over the remote Loch a’ Chairn Bhain in Sutherland came along in 1984. The Forth Road Bridge is a long-span suspension bridge... Technical update from the Forth Road Bridge team. You get the sense, right from his first job as a graduate engineer on the construction of the Brighton Marina to his latest role as Principal Contract Project Director on the Queensferry Crossing, Michael Martin doesn’t just pick up responsibility but scoops it up with both hands. “It was the smallest PFI contract of the first tranche of DBFO (Design, Build, Finance & Operate) roads projects, but it was the first and we got there first, so it was immensely important to Morrison’s growing reputation.”. Guidance for abnormal loads and agricultural vehicles. “In fact, it turned out to be a very successful period for the international business and, on the back of it, we won another contract in Antarctica for the British Antarctic Survey expedition. This design and construct project, on which Michael was once again Chief Engineer, completed the ‘three bridges’ (Kessock, Cromarty & Dornoch) major upgrade of the A9 trunk road. My involvement over the previous three years or so had given me a detailed grasp of all the technical and logistical issues. After another year, Michael felt the time was right to take stock. “Things at AWG had not been fun, in truth, so with agreement I decided to take early retirement. The special award was presented to the project delivery team of Transport Scotland, the Jacobs Arup joint venture (JV) and Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors at the ceremony in Glasgow. The story of the Queensferry Crossing - how it came to take its... Queensferry Crossing construction gallery. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on The Forth Bridges website. The bridge was Kessock, outside Inverness, where the Martin family has been based ever since. A regular ferry operated between North and South Queensferry as... Archive photos showing the construction of the Forth Bridge. “If I was ever going to have a nervous breakdown, it would have been then. It is an honour to be leading such a team, able and willing to take up the responsibility to deliver a world class structure to our client. Michael was appointed chief engineer on the project. Sitting in his office in the main site office in Rosyth, gazing out at the emerging Queensferry Crossing, Michael’s career has in some respects come full circle. 150,000 tonnes. The Main Crossing consists of a new road bridge across the Forth estuary spanning 2637.5 m between abutments. Responsibility is a key word. The laying of the foundations, the construction of the 210m high towers, the construction and launching of the approach viaducts and the erection of their supporting piers – and a million tasks in between - have all been major challenges successfully met by the fantastic project team. The Queensferry Crossing: Accepted Design, Architects & Engineers. Founded by the eponymous Danish “Philosopher Engineer”, the company is renowned for the importance it places on its values, vision and the contribution individuals can make. Years later, even though not permanently stationed abroad, his job heading up Morrison’s Infrastructure Division was now allowing him the sort of international travel opportunities that had caught his eye in the job vacancy pages. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors May 17th, 2017 Rigmar’s Specialist Access Division are proud to be supporting Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, by managing their complex rigging operations on the already iconic, Queensferry Crossing. The Principal Contract to design and build the new bridge and connecting roads was awarded in April 2011 to the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium with a s… The AB2K Solution. “And it was a structure that only became stable once complete. CONCLUSION 3.1. A subsequent trip was even more of an adventure. 2 Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, Hochtief. The new bridge over the forth estuary will connect the North and South of Scotland, with a span of 1.6 miles, the structure is the longest three tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. of concrete poured. He and a colleague were delayed on a flight to St Petersburg and then missed their connecting flight to Baku in Azerbaijan. CLIENT: Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) Consortium (HOCHTIEF Solutions AG, American Bridge International, Dragados S.A. and Morrison Construction) 32,500 hours. Second Forth Crossing. 372 seven metre. The spectacular sight of three of the world’s most impressive... Can I walk across any of the Forth bridges? Not long after, he was approached by former colleagues at Galliford Try (who had purchased the Morrison business from AWG) and asked to sit on the Board of FCBC, the joint venture which had won the contract to design and build the biggest infrastructure project in Scotland in a generation. Following extensive Parliamentary scrutiny throughout 2010, the Forth Crossing Actwas granted Royal Assent in January 2011. So I decided that would be the career for me.”, After graduating from Leeds University in 1975 with a BSC (Hons) in Civil Engineering, a move to London followed to take up his appointment with Ove Arup. “In part, I joined Morrison because they were obviously doing very well. And then, as we know, in late 2014 he stepped into the FCBC Project Director role. The north side works, in particular, are very complex. Including the new road system which connects the new bridge to the existing road network, the total length of the project comes in at a staggering 13.7 miles. “The temporary works were massively complicated. So, despite that strategic focus, here was a commercial opportunity that saw him going to the Board to recommend bidding for work on the only continent Morrison was not currently working on. As it has turned out, a number of aspects of the Dornoch project were to be replicated in much that was to follow in Michael’s career. The Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC) … It’s too important a job and it needed somebody to come in, run it, build on the great work done since 2011 and see it through to completion. Kylesku Bridge is a project which still gets Michael animated. Luckily, their English-speaking taxi driver took them under his wing and found them a Russian-only hotel for the night – not an easy, or strictly legal, thing to do given their visa-less status. Trips to the then Soviet Union to investigate potential opportunities around the opening up of the oil fields of Azerbaijan stand out. Morrison was on the up and up. So, the idea that the bridge was built by Scottish materials and Scottish labour is unfortunately something of a myth. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time. “It was something of a surprise that Morrison actually won the contract, given the lack of proven competence at that time for a job of such complexity. I didn’t really have any idea what civil engineering was but it sounded exciting. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) was selected to complete the project– an international consortium consisting of Hochtief from Germany, American Bridge from the USA, Dragados from Spain and Morrison Construction from Scotland, part of the Galliford Try Group. SES was appointed by main contractor Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) to install services, and the complexity and scale of the project is reflected in its £20m contract. "My psyche is such that I wanted to be a part of it. They were small but growing rapidly and making a name for themselves. Carlisle-born Michael assumed the leadership of the FCBC (Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors) joint venture at the end of 2014 after previous Project Director, Carlo Germani, moved on to a major infrastructure project in Qatar. Michael Martin’s fascinating career began with Ove Arup & Partners in the 1970s. 4 formerly Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors Design JV Ramboll, Southampton, now MDL Marinas Consultancy, Southampton, UK. Vital statistics for a marvel of Victorian engineering. Built by Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), which Morrison Construction is part of, FCBC Project Director, Michael Martin, said on completion that the new crossing was “one of the world’s great bridges”. The Queensferry Crossing is a cable- stayed bridge which is to the west of the existing Forth Road Bridge. We can be immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and can look forward to completing an outstanding bridge to sit alongside its world famous neighbours. The two consortia were Forthspan, which included Morgan Sindall, BAM Nuttall and Balfour Beatty; and Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC), which consists of Dragados, Hochtief, American Bridge, and Morrison Construction. Such third party cookies may track your use of The Forth Bridges websites. Michael, enjoying semi-retirement, had been invited on to the FCBC joint venture board after a distinguished career in global civil engineering working on many significant infrastructure projects with Morrison and other companies. The Martin family (Mary and Michael have two sons, Ben and Euan, and two grandchildren) were loving life in Inverness – where they still live today – but this wasn’t the only reason to leave a global engineering design company for the apparently more modest charms of a Highland based contractor. The company's line of business includes providing residential construction services. Transport Scotland is working with the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium on this project. “I agreed with the Morrison Board that we needed a clear strategy in order to consolidate the rather disparate international focus which was challenging for a company the size of Morrison. Ironically, Michael missed working with his Queensferry Crossing opposite number, Transport Scotland’s Project Director David Climie, by a matter of a few months. Michael was able to apply that learning on his next major bridge contract, the Dornoch Firth Crossing (opened in 1991 after a three year construction programme). Forth Crossing The contract for the main crossing of the Firth of Forth was awarded to FCBC and construction started in late 2011. There have been three main contractors for the full scheme: Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) – a consortium of Hochtief from Essen, Germany, Dragados from Cadiz, Spain, American Bridge from Pittsburgh USA and Morrison Construction, originally from Inverness, Scotland – is building the bridge and connecting roads. During the next three years, he first took over responsibility for the AWG Engineering & Programme Management business, then it was back to running the Morrison Construction business before a period running AWG’s “growth” Facility Management Division which included, amongst others, the group’s IT, public sector and environmental services. There were only two international hotels in the city at that time and both were full because of an international Jehovah’s Witness conference of all things.”. I thought, I’ll get a hands-on job of my own there to build quite quickly. Already an FCBC Board member (since 2012) representing one of the partner companies, Morrison Construction, Michael was well acquainted with the Project and had a detailed knowledge of the progress to date and the challenges ahead. The need for a road bridge over the Firth of Forth came to light... Archive photos of the Forth Road Bridge under construction. 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