Balfour Beatty, in joint venture with Skanska, has been selected for a £55m scheme to upgrade junction 30 of the M25 by the Highways Agency.
The 50:50 joint venture, Balfour Beatty Skanska, is a construction partner to Connect Plus, the company responsible for managing and upgrading the M25 network, and has already delivered £1.3bn worth of ‘smart’ motorway upgrades to 117km of the M25 since 2009. The work on junction 30 in Essex will provide enhancements to the motorway where it meets the A13 at Thurrock, as part of a project to reduce congestion, supporting the Government's National Infrastructure Plan.
150,000 people who use or pass junction 30 every day will experience improved journey times through increased capacity and the scheme will accommodate any future plans for land use around the Thurrock Thames Gateway and in South Essex.
Balfour Beatty Joint Venture Board member Phil Clifton said: “Our Balfour Beatty Skanska construction joint venture is a highly successful collaboration that has delivered many schemes around the M25. The junction 30 scheme will benefit from a project team which already has extensive knowledge of the M25 and this busy intersection and which has a proven ability at offering sustainable and innovative solutions for the Highways Agency.”
Work is scheduled to commence in January 2015 with completion by 2017.
Find out more about our Construction Services Division
Follow us @bbcsuk
Media enquiries to:
Sharon Willis
Balfour Beatty Construction Services UK
Tel +44 (0)207 963 2144
Mob +44 (0)7703 316998
sharon.willis@balfourbeatty.com
Notes to editors:
1. The scheme includes the widening of the A13 to four lanes in each direction between junction 30 and the A126 on the Essex side of the motorway, installing a segregated left turn lane between the M25 southbound and the A13 eastbound, and the introduction of an additional lane to the M25 gyratory from the A13 in the westbound direction. Several new gantries carrying the latest motorway technology will be installed along the gyratory at the A13, A282 (the Dartford Crossing) and M25 and existing lighting columns and traffic signals will be renewed.
2. Skanska Balfour Beatty is a construction joint venture formed in 2009 to deliver improvements to reduce congestion on the M25 and adjoining routes for the M25 Connect Plus design-build-finance-and-operate concession, on behalf of the Highways Agency.
In 2011, Skanska Balfour Beatty completed a 61km upgrade of the M25 to four lane running between junctions 16 to 23 and junctions 27 to 30.
In 2014 Skanska Balfour Beatty completed a further 46km upgrade of the M25 to ‘Smart Motorway’ working between junctions 5 and 7 through Kent and Surrey and between junctions 23 and 27 through Hertfordshire and Essex. The total length of motorway upgrade since 2009 is 116km. The cost of the schemes has been £1.3bn.
3. Connect Plus is a consortium comprising Balfour Beatty, Skanska Atkins and Egis Projects SA which was awarded a 30 year £6.2bn design, build, finance and operate concession in 2009 to upgrade and maintain 372 miles of the M25 motorway and connecting routes on behalf of the Highways Agency. As well as the M25, the 372 mile network, also known as Highways Agency Area 5, includes responsibility for sections of the A1 (M), A1, M1, A2, M11, A282, M26, M3, M4, A20 and M20 which run over and under the M25. The M25 is the second longest ring road in the world (after the Berlin ring road) and the busiest motorway in Europe, carrying more than 250,000 vehicles a day on some sections. In 2014, Connect Plus completed the five year upgrade of 116km of the network to the UK’s first ever ‘Smart’ motorway with traffic running permanently on the hard shoulder under statutory speed limits, easing delays and improving journey times for motorists. Further information on Connect Plus Services can be found here: www.connectplusm25.co.uk.
4. 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 & 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.
5. Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group.
With 36,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth.
We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.
Our main geographies are the UK, US, Middle East and South East Asia. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the world’s biggest shopping mall in Dubai, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
