By Ashley Karen
National Highways has approved the five firms nominated for two road contracts worth a mixed £1.9bn to design and construct routes south and north of the river on the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.
- The companies who have been invited to tender are as follow:
- Kent Roads (Lot 1 – £600m)
- BFV JV; including BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Construction (UK) Ltd and VINCI Construction Grands Projects
- Costain
- Kier Eiffage (KEJV); including Kier Highways and Eiffage Génie Civil
- Skanska Construction UK
- Roads North of the Thames (Lot 2 – £1.3bn)
- Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering
- Kier Eiffage (KEJV); including Kier Highways and Eiffage Génie Civil
The £600m Kent Roads contract is a two-phase design and construct contract for the part of the route from the A2/M2 corridor to 1km south of the southern tunnel entrance, with strategic utilities and environmental interfaces.
In addition, the £1.3 billion Roads North of the Thames contract is a two-phase design and construct contract delivering the route from 1km north of the northern tunnel entrance to Junction 29 of the M25. The new link roads are demanded to link the route with the M25, A13 and A1089.
The successful firms will design and construct 14.3 miles of new roads totally, which is going to link the longest road tunnel in the UK to the strategic road network.
Lower Thames Crossing Executive Director, Matt Palmer stated: “The Lower Thames Crossing is the most ambitious road project this country has seen since the M25 was completed 35 years ago.”
“These contracts show our commitment to this project, which will support 22,000 jobs during its construction and provide a huge economic boost to the UK economy when it opens for traffic,” added Palmer.
He also asserted: “Our challenge is to build a new crossing that not only supports the next generation of low carbon vehicles but also allows us to enhance the natural environment and leave a positive legacy for generations to come.
“We look forward to this next stage of the procurement process with the five shortlisted companies and hope the final bids match our aspirations.”
