Skip to main content

Balfour included on major UK Highways Agency framework contract

Balfour wins place on major UK Highways Agency road framework contract Balfour Beatty’s UK construction business has been appointed by the UK’s Highways Agency to a new collaborative framework contract for projects totalling more than US$3.95 billion (£2.5 billion). Under the framework arrangement, Balfour is one of five contractors that the agency can call upon to deliver individual projects worth between $160 million and $713 million (£100 million and £450 million) on Lot 3B of the Collaborative Del
November 7, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Balfour wins place on major 1441 UK Highways Agency road framework contract

1146 Balfour Beatty’s UK construction business has been appointed by the UK’s Highways Agency to a new collaborative framework contract for projects totalling more than US$3.95 billion (£2.5 billion).

Under the framework arrangement, Balfour is one of five contractors that the agency can call upon to deliver individual projects worth between $160 million and $713 million (£100 million and £450 million) on Lot 3B of the Collaborative Delivery Framework.

The overall framework, which includes lots for other types of work, will deliver the largest ever upgrade of England’s strategic road network, valued between $6.3 billion and $9.5 billion (£4 billion and £6 billion) by 2021.

The framework lasts for four years with an option for a mutually agreed one-year extension. Individual contracts within the framework will be allocated either through the agreement of target costs or by mini-competitions where several tenders are submitted.

Nicholas Pollard, Balfour Beatty construction services UK chief executive, said the company has a strong record delivering major contracts by working closely with the Highways Agency. Balfour Beatty, in partnership with 2296 Skanska, 3005 Atkins and 2643 Egis, delivered a 30-year $9.8 billion (£6.2 billion) M25 design build finance and operate project which included widening more than 100km of motorway to four lanes.

Balfour Beatty is also currently delivering the agency’s $291 million (£184 million) Manchester Smart Motorway scheme and the $204.4 million (£129 million) M3 Smart Motorway scheme.

The framework is intended to promote collaborative behaviour, such as standardisation and pre-fabrication, in order to lower costs, deliver better quality faster and to improve health and safety behaviour.

Graham Dalton, Highways Agency chief executive, said the framework is the largest that the agency has awarded. “It is not just the scale of this framework that is important, but the way it is designed to bring the agency, designers and contractors together in one large collaborative team. We expect to deliver this major investment programme efficiently, speedily and with real effort to minimise disruption to road users while we build,” he said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Graphene-enhanced pavements join UK Live Labs programme
    September 1, 2020
    While some parts of the world are on pause, road construction and new technology trials are still underway, as these stories demonstrate - Kristina Smith reports
  • Beyond cost: forging a solutions-led partnership for highways carbon-saving
    December 30, 2024
    Changing highways procurement is increasingly focusing material specification to drive carbon savings as well as cost. A longstanding partnership between Huyton Asphalt and Tarmac is delivering new solutions for highways clients in the UK.
  • Simulation Systems wins England traffic signal management upgrade
    June 21, 2016
    Highways England has awarded a contract to deliver a central traffic signal control and management system for south-east England to Simulation Systems Limited (SSL) Central to the contract, for England’s motorway and major A-roads, will be a Siemens Stratos system which is designed to be the UK’s first cloud-hosted, fully integrated traffic control and management solution. The project will also include Hosted-SCOOT, a real time UTC and adaptive traffic control system. It is already used to manage and
  • Australian mega link route opens
    November 29, 2012
    Australia’s largest and most complex transport infrastructure project in the city of Brisbane has been officially opened to traffic. The first vehicles have now used the Airport Link, Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and Airport Roundabout Upgrade projects, which together form an extensive US$5.85 billion transport project. The project in Australia’s third most populous city in the state of Queensland comprises a toll road and dedicated busway route, together involving almost 12km of tunnels (described