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Six JVs share in Highways England’s £1.5bn drive for smart motorways

Six joint venture teams have been awarded contracts worth over £1.5bn to design and build 10 smart motorways across England as Highways England ramps up road investment.

Construction contractors appointed are Balfour Beatty and VINCI, Costain and Galliford Try and Carillion and Kier joint ventures. Designers are, respectively, joint ventures of CHM2 and Hyder, Amey and Arup, and Jacobs and Atkins.

Three schemes start this Autumn with the others scheduled to go ahead over the next two to three years subject to statutory processes and will add 292 additional lane miles to the English motorway network through conversion of the hard shoulder to a running lane.

The 60:40 Balfour Beatty VINCI  jv starts work this year on the delivery of the £45.4M M5 J4a to J6 smart motorway in Worcestershire.

It has also been appointed to construct two future schemes: the M6 J2 to J4 in the Midlands, expected to start in 2017/18, and the M4 J3 to 12 in London and Berkshire due to start in 2016/17, at an estimated combined value of up to £562M. CHM2 and Hyder joint venture have been appointed as the designers for these two future schemes, valued to them at between £25 to £30M.

Costain Galliford Try has won a construction package including delivery of the M1 J19 to J16 smart motorway in Northamptonshire which starts this autumn at a value of £65.39M.

“We have awarded these contracts to the companies who demonstrated to us they will work together, across all the projects, not just the ones they have been awarded." - Andrew Watson, Highways England

it have also been appointed to construct two future schemes: the M1 J24 to J25 in the East Midlands, and the M1 J13 to 16 in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, both expected to start work in 2016/17, at an estimated combined value of up to £302.3M. Amey and Arup joint venture have been appointed as the designers for these two future schemes, valued for them at between £20 to £25M.

Carillion and Kier has been awarded the package to deliver the M6 J16 to J19 smart motorway in Staffordshire and Cheshire, starting this autumn at a value of £129.5M.

It has also been appointed to construct three future schemes: the M6 J13 to J15 in Staffordshire, the M20 J3 to J5 in Kent, and the M23 J8 to J10 in Surrey and West Sussex, all expected to start work 2017/18, at an estimated combined value of up to £345M. Jacobs and Atkins joint venture have appointed as the designers of these three future schemes, valued for them at between £20 to £25M.

The value of construction and design contracts for projects starting after 2015/16 are indicative, Highways England said,  as the schemes are in early development phase. Highways England will work with the contractors to agree final target costs.

The smart motorway schemes are part of the £15bn government investment Highways England is delivering between now and 2021. 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 incidents up ahead.

This is the second major procurement to be awarded under the company’s Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF). The first was the appointment of designers and contractors for the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement which was announced last month (June).

“We have awarded these contracts to the companies who demonstrated to us they will work together, across all the projects, not just the ones they have been awarded. They proved they are driven to get the best results on price, quality and on reducing impact on road users: keeping the motorways flowing while they construct these vital improvements,” said Highways England smart motorway programme director Andrew Watson.

“As part of our long-term economic plan, we are investing more than £1.5bn over the next five years in upgrading congested sections of motorway. This means better journeys for millions of people across the country, easier access to jobs, and stronger links between towns and cities. This is good for the economy and good for Britain,” said roads minister Andrew Jones.

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