Balfour Beatty’s UK construction business has been appointed by the Highways Agency to a new collaborative framework worth in excess of £2.5bn to deliver high value projects.
The company is one of five contractors that will be selected to carry out schemes valued at between £100m to £450m on Lot 3B of the Collaborative Delivery Framework.
The overall framework, which includes Lots for other types of work, will deliver the largest ever upgrade of England’s strategic road network, valued at a total of between £4bn and £6bn by 2021. The framework lasts for four years, with an option for a mutually agreed one year extension. The individual projects within the framework will be allocated either through the agreement of target costs or the use of mini-competitions where several tenders are submitted.
The framework is intended to promote collaborative behaviour, innovation and value-orientated solutions, such as standardisation and pre-fabrication, in order to lower costs, deliver better quality faster and to improve health and safety behaviour. Balfour Beatty has pioneered the delivery of these elements on the £88m M4/M5 Smart Motorway scheme and the thirty year £6.2bn M25 Design Build Finance and Operate project which has included the widening of over 100km of motorway and converting it to ‘smart’ technology.
Graham Dalton, Highways Agency Chief Executive said: “This framework is the largest we have ever awarded. It will allow the Agency to deliver large scale improvements to England’s strategic roads, enabling economic growth across the country.
“It is not just the scale of this framework that is important, but the way it is designed to bring the Agency, designers and contractors together in one large collaborative team. We expect to deliver this major investment programme efficiently, speedily and with real effort to minimise disruption to road users while we build.”
Nicholas Pollard, Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have a strong track record of delivering major contracts by working closely with the Highways Agency and we are looking forward to drawing on those experiences as we develop further ways of working which deliver an exceptional service to the Agency and the public. We are delighted to be on board with this leading and innovative programme that forms such a substantial part of the Highways Agency’s intense commitment to deliver the biggest ever upgrade of the English strategic road network.”
Balfour Beatty is also currently delivering the £184m Manchester Smart Motorway scheme and the £129m M3 Smart Motorway scheme for the Highways Agency.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Scott Wilson
Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK
T +44 (0)207 963 2150
M +44 (0)7966 895011
E scott.wilson3@balfourbeatty.com
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PHOTOGRAPHS:
Photos can be found of Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK activities onFlickr.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Twenty-six contractors have been appointed across the entire Collaborative Delivery Framework awarded by the Highways Agency in November 2014.
Balfour Beatty is a leading provider of services to the Highways Agency. Since 2009 Balfour Beatty has been working in partnership with Skanska, Atkins and Egis to deliver the £6.2bn M25 DBFO project for the Highways Agency, including the widening over 100km of the motorway to four lanes and conversion to all-lane running, or ‘smart’ technology (the first fully operational scheme of its type in the UK). It is also currently delivering the £184m Manchester Smart Motorway and the £129m M3 Smart Motorway schemes and is engaged on the £75m A63 Castle Street Hull improvement scheme under an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) design and build contract.
The company operates the strategic road network on behalf of the Highways Agency in Area 4 (Kent, Surrey and East Sussex) and Area 10 (Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside), and operates the latest generation road technology maintenance contracts (RTMC) for the Highways Agency in the South West, North West and the Midlands.
Other schemes delivered previously include the £371m A3 Hindhead Tunnel, the £88m M4/M5 ‘smart motorway’ scheme and the £360m A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement Scheme.
Balfour Beatty’s UK and Ireland construction business (www.balfourbeattycsuk.com) is a leading integrator of complex, sophisticated and innovative projects that improve the UK’s and Ireland’s national infrastructure and an experienced provider of local and regional projects that help build lasting communities.
We offer a broad range of capabilities in construction, civil engineering and mechanical and electrical engineering services.
With offices throughout the UK and Ireland, we deliver a locally-focused service with the support of our national network of expertise and resources.
Balfour Beatty’s UK and Ireland construction business employs over 9,000 people.
