22nd Jul 2015 10:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - A slew of construction and support services companies on Wednesday said they have been named on packages awarded by Highways England for its GBP1.5 billion Smart Motorway programme.
The scheme will involve increasing capacity, reducing congestion and shortening journey times across a number of stretches of the motorway in the UK. The Smart Motorways project will see 292 extra lane miles added to motorways. The hard shoulder will be converted to a traffic lane and signing and technology will tell drivers what speed to drive at, if lanes are blocked or closed, and about accidents and other incidents up ahead.
Balfour Beatty PLC, as part of its joint venture with French construction company VINCI, has been selected to work on a package worth up to GBP607.4 million, the largest of the three packages awarded. The Balfour Beatty VINCI joint venture, in which Balfour has a 60% stake, will deliver upgrades for a stretch of the M5, M6 and M4 motorways, covering areas in Worcestershire, the Midlands and between Berkshire and London.
Construction on the first tranche of the work, the GBP45.4 million M5 motorway upgrade, will start in autumn. The M6 work is due to start in 2017/18 and the M4 scheme will start in 2016/17.
"Collaborating in this way will enable us to deliver continuous improvements in performance throughout the three work phases - reducing costs, minimising disruption and above all providing innovative solutions which continue to raise the overall efficiency of the national network for the travelling public," said Leo Quinn, Balfour's chief executive.
Carillion PLC and Kier Group PLC, working in a joint venture, have been named on a GBP475 million package under the programme which will cover upgrades to the M6, the M20 and the M23. Work on the first part of the package, the one of the two M6 projects, will start in the autumn, with the remaining tranches to be taken on over the next four years.
"As a leading supplier to Highways England, we are delighted to have been awarded this latest contract for the smart motorway programme. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Highways England to improve journey times and safety on the M6, M20 and M23 motorways," said Carillion Chief Executive Richard Howson.
"Investment into the transport infrastructure sector is a key component of the National Infrastructure Pipeline, and this significant award is testament to Kier's growing presence in this arena," added Haydn Mursell, Kier's chief executive.
Meanwhile, Galliford Try PLC and Costain Group PLC have been named on a GBP367 million portion of the scheme. The joint venture between the pair will work on three separate upgrades to the M1, covering junctions in Northamptonshire, the East Midlands and Bedfordshire. The first part of the package, the Northamptonshire portion, will start in the autumn, with the other two to begin in 2016/17.
"We're delighted to have furthered our relationship with Highways England following our appointment to its Collaborative Delivery Framework last November. Our Highways business continues to go from strength to strength and the highways sector will be key for us over the next few years," said Greg Fitzgerald, Galliford Try's executive chairman.
Balfour shares were up 0.5% to 232.00 pence on Wednesday. Carillion shares were down 0.6% to 352.10 pence, Kier shares were flat at 1,454.00p, Galliford shares were up 0.8% to 1,720.00p and Costain shares were up 1.5% to 335.75p.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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