£45.4m M5 contract awarded; M6 and M4 schemes worth a combined total of £562m to be awarded subject to statutory approval
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, today announces that its joint venture with VINCI, a global player in concessions and construction, has been selected to deliver a smart motorway package worth up to £607.4m, the largest of Highways England’s three packages within its £1.5bn Smart Motorway Programme.
Balfour Beatty VINCI, a 60:40 joint venture, will deliver smart motorway upgrades to a 10 mile stretch of the M5 Junctions 4a to 6 in Worcestershire; a 12 mile section of the M6 Junctions 2 to 4 in the Midlands, and a 32 mile stretch of the M4 Junctions 3 to 12 in London and Berkshire.
These upgrades will increase capacity, reduce congestion and shorten journey times for the thousands of road users who use these parts of the network every day. Extra capacity will be added to the motorways through the conversion of the hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Electronic signs, operated by a regional control centre, will be installed to manage the flow of traffic in response to driving conditions.
Balfour Beatty VINCI has signed the contract for the first tranche of work: the £45.4 million M5 upgrade, with construction due to start in the autumn of this year.
Subject to statutory approval and continued value for money, the M6 is expected to start work in 2017/18 and the M4 scheme in 2016/17 at an estimated combined value of up to £562 million. Final target costs for these contracts will be agreed with Highways England.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Group Chief Executive said:
“What Balfour Beatty brings to this joint venture is its proven expertise gained in successfully executing the M4/M5, M25, M3 and M60 smart motorway upgrades.
“We can therefore field a strong integrated delivery unit, including experienced supply chain partners, to work closely with Highways England. 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.”
Balfour Beatty and VINCI are world leading infrastructure, construction and concession businesses. We make a powerful combination, with demonstrable expertise in delivering major and complex infrastructure schemes safely around the world. Our collective expertise includes mobilising and managing large workforces, creating integrated experienced supply chain teams, understanding risk and performance outcomes, and driving innovation and continual improvement.
In 2012 Balfour Beatty and VINCI formed an integrated team to pursue forthcoming opportunities on the UK’s High Speed 2 rail project.
Notes to editors:
Balfour Beatty is a leading road designer, constructor, asset manager and maintenance provider in the UK. Projects carried out include traditional work through to the more complex design-build-finance-operate (DBFO), smart motorway and early contractor involvement (ECI) schemes.
Balfour Beatty’s current major capital road works portfolio includes the £745m A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and Balmedie/Tipperty project for Transport Scotland, and for Highways England: the £184m M60 J20 Manchester Smart Motorway Joint Venture; the £129m M3 J2 to J4a Smart Motorway scheme in Surrey; the £55m M25 Junction 30 Upgrade Scheme in Essex; the £75m A63 Castle Street Hull improvement scheme ECI; and the £44m A1 Coalhouse to Metro Centre scheme near Newcastle.
Recently completed schemes include the £105m Fiveways to Thetford A11 Dualling in Norfolk/Suffolk and the £88 million M4/M5 ‘Smart Motorway’ near Bristol, both for Highways England.
Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) 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.
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