Highways England (HE) has launched a new era for road building with the announcement of ground-breaking multi-billion-pound contracts that aim to encourage better planned roadworks and more reliable journeys across the agency’s network of motorways and major trunk roads
HE has announced deals with 13 supply chain partners to collaborate regionally to carry out up to £8.7bn (US$11.4bn) worth of work on England’s Strategic Road Network (SRN) of motorways and major A roads. The deals have been set up using a new industry-leading approach, the ‘Routes to Market Regional Delivery Partnership’, which incentivizes companies to improve safety and journeys on HE’s roads. It contains incentives for results that include:
Shorter duration and more accurate management of roadworks to help drivers better plan their journeys and experience predictable journey times; Buying more efficiently and buying locally, using the capability of a region to benefit the region; Encouraging innovation, for example lighting and signs designed to need less maintenance, reducing disruption and improving road worker safety; Reduced road noise and increased environmental benefits.
The 13 companies, known as Delivery Integration Partners, will be part of the Regional Delivery Partnership working with HE. They will develop, design and construct highway projects across England from 2019 through to 2024. Until now, the agency has procured work on a scheme by scheme basis. This new approach provides a secure pipeline of work, instilling confidence to invest in skills and employment. Driving value for money, innovation and delivery certainty, the Regional Delivery Partnership model has been designed to start a long overdue transformation within the UK’s infrastructure construction sector.
The 13 companies awarded contracts are: Lot 1 – South West & Midlands – £200m (US$263m) – Geoffrey Osborne Ltd and Griffiths / Farrans Joint Venture; Lot 2 – South East & East – £350m (US$460m) – John Graham Construction Ltd and Volker Fitzpatrick Ltd; Lot 3 – North West, North East, Yorkshire & Humber – £200m (US$263m) – Amey / Sir Robert McAlpine Joint Venture and North Midland Construction Plc; Lot 4 – South West – £800m (US$1bn) – Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd; and Taylor Woodrow; Lot 5 – Midlands – £1.25bn (US$1.6bn) – BAM Nuttall Ltd and Skanska Construction UK Ltd; Lot 6 – South East – £1.1bn (US$1.4bn) – BAM Nuttall Ltd and Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd; Lot 7 – East – £2.8bn (US$3.7bn) – Costain Ltd, Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd, and Skanska Construction UK Ltd; Lot 8 – North West, North East, Yorkshire & Humber – £2bn (US$2.6bn) – Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd, Costain Ltd and Kier Highways Ltd. The work is arranged into 18 Packages of schemes, awarded to Delivery Integration Partners in bands of up to £100m (US$131m) (lots 1 to 3) and over £100m (lots 4 to 8).
“Routes to Market represents a fundamental change in the way we deliver road projects. It will be performance rather than price based, focusing on building the right projects with the best outcomes for road users and the communities we serve,” explained HE’s chief executive, Jim O’Sullivan. “It demands a major step up in our supply chain to embrace innovation and team work and in their ability to deliver value.”
