Welcome to the Friday Feed, our rundown of this week’s construction news
🚉 Rail
Arcadis have been awarded a ÂŁ100M contract as part of the TransPennine Route Upgrade. Network Rail have brought the consultancy firm onto the project to supply a range of programme management services. An Irish campaign group have unveiled plans for a transformative Metro system for the northwest of the island. The plans include speeding up delivery of stations and lines which were initially promised in cross-border transport plans across Derry/Londonderry, Tyrone and Donegal. In HS2 news, a major milestone has been achieved on the project as all the foundations have been laid for the Curzon Street Station. The piling part of the project began in September 2024 and included the installation of 2,011 concrete piles.
⚡Energy
3Bn worth of contracts have been signed in a major development for the Eastern Green Link 3 project. The project will be the largest British electricity transmission project spanning 690km from Aberdeenshire to West Norfolk. Elsewhere, DNV have claimed that a lack of “whole system thinking” is risking the UK missing its decarbonisation targets. Current estimates claim that the UK is likely to cut emissions by 33% by 2035, approximately half of what is required to achieve their goals.
đźš— Roads
National Highways have appointed three firms to the ÂŁ968m Strategic Road Framework. Kier, John Sisk and Son, and Graham have been appointed to the project which will replace aging concrete pavements. Engineers have installed two large steel bridge beams as a part of the ÂŁ290M M3 junction 9 upgrade project. The aim of the project is to alleviate congestion where the M3 meets the A34 near Winchester, as currently 6,000 vehicles an hour use the junction at peak times.
🏠Property and development
Members of Parliament have expressed their desire for housing projects to have an “Infrastructure first” approach. They argue that, for too long, loopholes have been found in new housing projects in which developers have ignored the transport implications of new housing estates. They argue that because of this Britain is currently experiencing a “structural failure”. In other news, 10 firms have been appointed to the government backed New Hospital Framework. This £37Bn framework is set to be the largest hospital building programme in a generation. It involves NHS England, individual NHS trusts and a consortium of contractors to be united under a single commercial and collaborative agreement. Lastly, London’s Tower Hamlets Council has granted planning permission for a new twin-tower scheme which will provide almost 1,000 new homes on the Isle of Dogs. The site owner for the project is Pirin Limited, whilst the development partner is Fifth State.
đź’§Water
Scottish Water have unveiled their new six year plan to protect and upgrade their water and wastewater network. Whilst focusing on climate pressures, the water company is also hoping to maintain low water bills as well as future proofing ageing assets.
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