Galliford Try picks up four honours at Highways Champions Awards 2026

Four Galliford Try Infrastructure employees have been recognised at the Highways Champions Awards 2026, the contractor said on 9 November, with honours spanning lifting safety, design, environmental work and long service.

Pete Wallis, Lifting Operations Manager, won the Process Change Award for introducing the Vita Load Navigator, a remote-controlled lifting system. Galliford Try said the device reduces the need for manual load guidance and has been used on several schemes, including the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road.

Alix Reynolds, Design Manager, and Sam Pickering, Environmental Advisor, were both named Rising Star Champions for their work on the A47 schemes in Norfolk. Ross Glendinning, Operations Director, received the Long Service Medal for nearly 30 years in the highways and infrastructure industry.

David Lowery, Divisional Managing Director of Galliford Try Infrastructure Services, said: "These awards recognise the dedication, expertise and innovation our people bring to every project."

The awards

The Highways Champions Awards are run by Highways magazine. The organiser describes them as the only recognition awards formally backed by the UK's major national highways institutions, naming National Highways, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government as the backing bodies.

The 2026 ceremony took place on the afternoon of Wednesday 4 November at the InterContinental London Park Lane in Mayfair. According to the organiser, the event honoured more than 100 medallists, three award winners and four new fellows of the industry.

Galliford Try had announced its shortlisting on 8 September. That announcement said Reynolds and Pickering were among 26 individuals across the UK recognised as Rising Star Champions, and that Glendinning had been shortlisted for the Long Service Medal. The September announcement named the environmental advisor as Samantha Pickering; the November announcement calls her Sam Pickering and describes her as a former colleague.

Glennan Blackmore, Managing Director for Galliford Try Infrastructure, said at the shortlisting stage: "These nominations are a testament to the exceptional impact our teams are making".

The lifting system

The Vita Load Navigator is described by its manufacturer, Vita Industrial, as a patented load control device that connects below the hook of any crane. The manufacturer says the propulsion-driven unit measures more than 1,000 data points per second and that loads are stabilised wirelessly by an operator on the ground.

According to the manufacturer, the device removes the need for taglines, improving worker safety and load placement, and can be operated remotely from up to 600 feet away to keep workers out of the danger zone.

Melton Mowbray

Galliford Try's Highways business was appointed in May 2023 to an £85m contract with Leicestershire County Council for the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road. The project was procured through the Midlands Highways Alliance and part-funded by the Department for Transport, and followed the company's award of the £140m Carlisle Southern Link Road.

The 4.4-mile road runs from the A606 Nottingham Road around the eastern edge of the town back to the A606 near Burton Lazars. Galliford Try said the scheme included six new roundabouts and four bridges, and involved diverting the River Eye 100m from its course, creating new wildlife habitat.

The road opened to traffic as Pork Pie Way, a name chosen through a public vote.

The A47 schemes

The September shortlisting announcement said the two Rising Stars were recognised for their work on the A47 North Tuddenham to Easton and Blofield to North Burlingham dualling schemes in Norfolk, both National Highways projects.

National Highways said in May 2026 that the new 2.6-mile two-lane dual carriageway between Blofield and North Burlingham was fully open. Finishing work continues there, with temporary two-way traffic lights over Knights Bridge so that bridge joints can be completed.

Between North Tuddenham and Easton, National Highways is building a new five-mile dual carriageway. The scheme has a start date of 2023-24 and an end date of 2026-27, and the project page lists a Galliford Try Tuddenham site office.