Firms face Jubilee time battle

Jubilee Line contractors on seven of the project's 10 major civils packages are being forced to reprogramme work in a battle to make up for delays and finish the scheme on time.

Just a year and a half after work on site began, contractors are reporting delays of up to six months as design changes, poor ground conditions and the ban on the use of the New Austrian Tunnelling Method take their toll on project programming.

The Jubilee Line Extension project team maintains that the lost time will be made up and the project will open on schedule in March 1998 and on budget at œ1.9 billion. But to do so will require the contractors to either reprogramme works, work longer hours or employ extra labour.

JLE project director Hugh Doherty, while refusing to confirm actual delays on contracts, said: 'We have encountered problems in different areas but across the project we are forecasting opening on schedule. This is not to disguise the fact that there are slippages but these can be addressed by taking up the float in the programme, re-sequencing work or working longer hours depending on the problem.'

CJ's inquiries have found that contracts 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 108 and 110 are all behind in some areas.

Three of the largest tunnelling contracts (see box copy) have been delayed by the ban on the use of NATM arising out of the collapse of the Heathrow Express tunnel last October. 'The NATM issue was a major blow for us,' said Doherty. 'But we do have plans to deal with it. We have split the whole project up into separate packages so we can address delays and stay on time.'

On Aoki/Soletanche's contract 105 between London Bridge and Canada Water there is a 25 week delay, but attempts to work extra time on site were scotched by the courts. 'We'll make up the time by doubling up subcontractors in the finishing operations,' said project manager Paul Haines. 'It is not ideal as we'd prefer them to work sequentially.'

And on McAlpine/Wayss & Freytag/Bachy's contract 110 design changes to the reinforced concrete box of North Greenwich station has held up the work by four and a half months. And although the two TBM's completed northbound drives on schedule, they have immediately been held up on the westbound drives because approvals from the Highways Agency to drive under the Blackwall tunnel were delayed.

Doherty said: 'The machines were held up but the contractor has worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week to get the first machine past the tunnel and the second will go after Easter.'