Three in running for £65m road job

The chase for a £65m roads deal in Essex has narrowed to just three contenders.

The county council will choose from Alfred McAlpine, May Gurney or Birse to tackle the A13/A130 Sadlers Farm Junction job now that pitches from Costain and Nuttall have bitten the dust.

The client is expected to name the winner of the contest around the middle of this month, with a start on site on the design and construct project expected in 2009.

But the green belt scheme has still to get the all-clear from Essex planners and there is a danger that it could still be called in by the government.

The council has taken just under two years to reach this stage of the bid process.

A council source said: "This is a very big and complex job and we didn't want to rush things."