HA confirms Carillion as A74 upgrade winner

The Highways Agency (HA) has confirmed Carillion as the winner of the £65m deal to upgrade the A74 dual carriageway between Carlisle and Guardsmill to a three-lane motorway.

The contract has been awarded under the HA's early contractor involvement scheme to speed up delivery. Carillion, in conjunction with design consultants Symonds and CarlBro, will develop the scheme and draw up proposals by the end of the year. Construction is planned to start in 2005/06.

This 9km stretch of the A74 - the missing link in the M6 route between England and Scotland - carries 42,000 vehicles a day, around three quarters of all cross border traffic, including some 10,000 heavy goods vehicles.

February has been a good month for Carillion: it has already won the HA's Area 12 MAC and beat Laing O'Rourke to Liverpool FC's £70m new Anfield stadium.