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Firms get bogged down under HA road schemes
16:28 31 Jul 2002
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by Brian Warner
Contractors are warning they could be swamped by the deluge of road schemes pouring out of the Highways Agency (HA). During the past few weeks no fewer than six major design and construct deals have emerged.
One contractor said: "This could lead to firms being overwhelmed with pricing and lead to some contractors being forced to pull out of the tendering process."
Another added: "Why does it have to be either famine or feast? Surely a steady stream of work would be more sensible."
The latest HA deals kick off with the £18m A595 Parton-Lillyhall improvement in Cumbria. The line-up is:
l Morgan-Est.
l Balfour Beatty.
l Morrison.
l Kier.
l Believed to be a jv led by local outfit Cumbrian Industrials.
The next scheme is the £15m A11 Attleborough bypass in Norfolk. The line-up is:
l May Gurney.
l Alfred McAlpine.
l Mowlem.
l Edmund Nuttall.
l Fitzpatrick.
Both schemes will follow the early design and build route.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Assembly has pushed out its £15m Deeside Park-Drome corner scheme in north Wales. The line-up is:
l Jones Brothers.
l Griffiths/Hochtief jv.
l Mowlem.
l Alfred McAlpine.
l Skanska.
The glut of work has led to only three contractors bothering with the £80m M60 widening deal in Manchester as they contend with pricing at least three other major schemes - the £73m Stockbury-Sheerness PFI project in Kent, the £27m Weeford-Fazeley improvement in Staffordshire and the £50m A34 Chieveley bypass in Berkshire.
A source close to the M60 deal said: "I think the HA will be able to go with three contenders - Norwest Holst/Nuttall, Amec/Alfred McAlpine and Costain - especially since the firms attended a presentation meeting with the agency last week."
Contractors will also need to muster resources for the HA's £70m design and construct A74 Guardsmill interchange deal in Cumbria, the £28m M56/A5117/A550 Deeside Park improvements near Chester and the possible emergence of the long-delayed £15m Lamberhurst bypass in Kent - all due out next month.
Contractors are warning they could be swamped by the deluge of road schemes pouring out of the Highways Agency (HA). During the past few weeks no fewer than six major design and construct deals have emerged.
One contractor said: "This could lead to firms being overwhelmed with pricing and lead to some contractors being forced to pull out of the tendering process."
Another added: "Why does it have to be either famine or feast? Surely a steady stream of work would be more sensible."
The latest HA deals kick off with the £18m A595 Parton-Lillyhall improvement in Cumbria. The line-up is:
l Morgan-Est.
l Balfour Beatty.
l Morrison.
l Kier.
l Believed to be a jv led by local outfit Cumbrian Industrials.
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The next scheme is the £15m A11 Attleborough bypass in Norfolk. The line-up is:
l May Gurney.
l Alfred McAlpine.
l Mowlem.
l Edmund Nuttall.
l Fitzpatrick.
Both schemes will follow the early design and build route.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Assembly has pushed out its £15m Deeside Park-Drome corner scheme in north Wales. The line-up is:
l Jones Brothers.
l Griffiths/Hochtief jv.
l Mowlem.
l Alfred McAlpine.
l Skanska.
The glut of work has led to only three contractors bothering with the £80m M60 widening deal in Manchester as they contend with pricing at least three other major schemes - the £73m Stockbury-Sheerness PFI project in Kent, the £27m Weeford-Fazeley improvement in Staffordshire and the £50m A34 Chieveley bypass in Berkshire.
A source close to the M60 deal said: "I think the HA will be able to go with three contenders - Norwest Holst/Nuttall, Amec/Alfred McAlpine and Costain - especially since the firms attended a presentation meeting with the agency last week."
Contractors will also need to muster resources for the HA's £70m design and construct A74 Guardsmill interchange deal in Cumbria, the £28m M56/A5117/A550 Deeside Park improvements near Chester and the possible emergence of the long-delayed £15m Lamberhurst bypass in Kent - all due out next month.
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