Friday Feed: Major projects in motion

Welcome to the Friday Feed, our rundown of this week’s construction news

In a UK first, HS2 has completed the final slide of a 4,600t viaduct across the M6 without the need to close the carriageway, which aimed to reduce disruption. Meanwhile, the former chair and Chief Executive of Bouygues UK has joined the board of HS2 as one of six new non-executive directors appointed to HS2 ltd. In Wales, Network Rail is aiding National Grid to build its new Snowdonia power tunnels. The scheme removes overhead power lines from the Dwyryd Estuary in Snowdonia by building a 3.4km tunnel and burying high-voltage cables, putting them under train lines for some of the distance.

Work to turn Coventry Airport into a £2.5bn battery gigafactory have moved forward after Warwick District Council planning committee approved applications around the early stages of the new development. In East Anglia, ABP has started a partnership at Lowestoft port with Scottish Power Renewables which will see operations and maintenance of its two East Anglia offshore wind farms run from the town’s port. Heathrow is set to start a £1.3bn T4 revamp next year; work will include a new multi storey car park and an upgraded check in hall. Work will run in phases to keep the terminal open and is expected to complete in 2031.

In the energy sector, Meg O’Neill will become the first female CEO of BP, in its 116 year history. She joins from Woodside Energy, the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. More North Sea exploration is expected under Government plans to relax restrictions on new oil and gas drilling unveiled on Wednesday. Lastly, GB Energy has launched a £1bn supply chain plan; the Energy Engineering in the UK (EEUK) programme will work to strengthen the UK’s clean energy industry.

National Highways will begin its A36 Salisbury improvement plan in the new year. The investment over the next six years will start with a scheme to improve traffic flow around the St Paul’s, St Mark’s, and Castle roundabouts. Blackpool Council is seeking contractors to join its £200m North West highways and civils framework, running from April 2026 to March 2030. Elsewhere, the completion date for the Lower Thames Crossing has been pushed back until 2034 and the project will be fully funded by private investors.

The Government has announced plans for a single construction regulator to streamline standards and improve safety. The move follows a recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report, published in September 2024, which called for a more unified regulatory system to reduce fragmentation. Thirteen firms have won places on a new £224m Torus framework, with plans to develop 9,000 new homes by 2029 and retrofit 41,000 homes that it already owns around Liverpool, Warrington, and St Helens. Meanwhile, the Government has approved plans for Universal Studios UK theme park, with construction set to start as soon as next year at the 476-acre site.

In the water sector, Galliford Try is to monitor Devon and Cornwall rivers under Phase 1 of South West Water’s continuous water quality monitoring programme. The project will install 86 samplers across a range of wastewater assets in Devon and Cornwall. Scottish Water has named its preferred firms for a £9bn framework stretching across the next two regulatory periods. The partnership will upgrade water and wastewater assets from 2027 to 2033, with an option to extend to 2039. Lastly, the Water Sector Reform White Paper has been delayed until 2026; the document, which is likely to bring widespread changes to the water industry had been due to be published before Christmas.

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