Part of A34 in 6 month delay

A section of the œ87 million A34 Wilmslow and Handforth bypass will be six months late, according to Kent County Council engineers. Most of the road being built by the Alfred McAlpine/Amec joint venture will be ready on schedule in October, but a railway bridge subcontract is causing problems.

The delay started when the bridge subcontractor Jacked Structures (JSL) went into voluntary liquidation in October 1994, after a dispute with client Railtrack. This has held up the construction of a tunnel through a mainline railway embankment by six months. The original design called for a jacked twin-box to be thrust through the embankment, but now the abutments will be adjusted and the bridge deck slid in. Trafalgar House has taken over the work.

A further complication is that four retailers, John Lewis, Sainsbury, Tesco and Marks & Spencer have put around œ30 million into the total œ87 million cost. All are opening new stores and are contracted not to open until the road is ready or before each other. This means they could lose six months trading unless the main part of the road can open in October. None of the traders needs the railway bridge end for access.