Case Study: A417 Virtual Hub

Overview

We were approached by the Kier teams working on the A417 Missing Link project. They wanted us to recreate a ‘Virtual Hub’ space for project information, as the existing version needed to be updated. 

The scheme is a major strategic road upgrade and offline build near Gloucester, that will deliver over three-miles of much-needed dual carriageway, while supporting active travel for the people of Gloucestershire, with improved cycling and pedestrian lanes. The increased road capacity is anticipated to reduce congestion, traffic delays and improve safety, while meeting specific requirements to preserve the Cotswold landscape.  

Challenges

A previous contractor on the project had already produced a virtual hub, from which project information could be accessed.

There was no way for the current project team to update the hub as the previous contractor is no longer involved. We were asked to create a new virtual hub for the project, with links to all relevant information and with similar interaction to the previous version. 

Solutions

Our work involved creating a new virtual hub from scratch. We set up a model of an imaginary exhibition room, within which we added interactive project information elements such as notice boards, links to progress updates, local environmental issues, kids’ activity corner and even a display cabinet contain artifacts found during site archaeology.

We set up a separate library room for technical documents and also a secure area only accessible to the project teams. The completed virtual hub was accessed from the National Highways website and could be viewed by project teams or the general public.  

Conclusion

The virtual hub provided a very intuitive way for the viewer to access project information. Feedback was very positive and the hub remained live for many months, providing all the relevant information about the scheme. 

References

Kier A417 Missing Link information: 

National Highways A417 website: 

Link to A417 Virtual Hub: 

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