Five in line for £85m northern road job

Five major league contractors are preparing to hit the road for an £85m early contractor involvement (ECI) deal in the North West.
By the end of this month, Amec, Carillion, Costain, Mowlem and McAlpine will pick up the tender paperwork for the Mottram-Tintwistle bypass on the edge of the Peak District.
Three of the contractors in the line-up also figure in the shortlist for a project that surfaced at the same time as Mottram: the £14m Haydon Bridge scheme in Northumberland.
The Mottram configuration means there is no place for Balfour Beatty and an Edmund Nuttall/Norwest Holst jv, which were hoping to make the final cut.
Contractors will have about 10 weeks to work up bids for the Highways Agency (HA) scheme, which is one of the few big value deals to come up for grabs in the North West in recent months.
An industry insider said: "It's got everything: a very high-profile project in an environmentally sensitive area, as well as being a big civil engineering challenge."
The 5.7km bypass, on the A57/A628, will feature a 200m-long tunnel, 14 structures and climbing lanes. A start on site is expected in 2006.
McAlpine, Costain and Mowlem also figure on the starting grid for the HA's A69 Haydon Bridge deal.
They are joined by Edmund Nuttall, with Amec possibly completing the line-up.
In an unusual move, the HA asked contractors to send in a single prequal document to cover both the Mottram and the Haydon Bridge schemes, with firms having the option to pitch for both or one of the projects.
Another source said: "Both of these schemes came out at the same time and it seemed cost-effective and quicker for both the HA and for contractors to send in one document covering both projects."
The A69 contract first emerged as a design and construct job. But, according to an industry insider, it has now become "a form of the ECI procurement route".
The project includes a river and railway crossing, 2.9km of single carriageway and improvements to side roads.