Major road contracts are being planned in the UK – image courtesy of © Indos82, Dreamstime.com
Two important road contracts are planned for the UK, for the A9 in Scotland and for the M5 in Gloucestershire. The A9 project is for the widening of a 9.6km stretch of the route, upgrading it so that it features two lanes in either direction. The M5 project meanwhile is for improvements to Junction 10 of the route, with the construction of a new roundabout.
The A9 stretch lies between Tomatin and Moy and is intended to boost capacity and safety on the route, which has had a bad reputation for crashes in the past. Design work has been carried out by a joint venture comprising Atkins and Mouchel. The contractors Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, John Graham Construction and Wills Bros Civil Engineering are shortlisted for the project. The work is expected to cost £115 million and the winner of the contract will be announced in 2022. This work forms part of the $3 billion project to widen the A9 along 129km of its length, between Inverness and Perth, with some of the stretches having already been completed.
The £200 million improvement work for Junction 10 of the M5 motorway involves upgrading the existing junction with a grade separated roundabout centred on the existing junction, which was seen as the best option. Gloucestershire County Council is overseeing the project and will select the contractor in mid-2022. Some 249 million of the funding required will now be provided by Homes England. The statutory public consultation for the proposed M5 Junction 10 Improvements Scheme is now open and will run until 15th February 2022.
