Shearwater Regulatory News (SWG)

13 Jan 2009 11:02



For Immediate Release 13 January 2009

SCOTT WILSON CONTINUE WITH BALFOUR BEATTY FOR NEXT STAGE OF A46 

Scott Wilson Group plc ("Scott Wilson" or "the Group"), the multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments, is pleased to confirm that, following the recent announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Geoff Hoon, it will provide the detailed design and site supervision services for Balfour Beatty for the A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement. As stated by Geoff Hoon in his announcement on 19 December, "I am pleased to be able to confirm today that dualling of the 28km section the A46 has been given the go-ahead following acceptance of the inspector's recommendations from the public inquiry".

The value of this stage of the contract to Scott Wilson is expected to be up to £9 million over the next 3 years. Scott Wilson has been working with Balfour Beatty and the Highways Agency on the initial phase of the Scheme since 2004.

The Scheme would provide 28km of dual carriageway with 8 grade separated junctions and 22 bridges. It would complete the link between the M1 at Leicester and the Newark Relief Road.  Scott Wilson would provide all aspects of the design including highway, structures and geotechnical design and extensive environmental mitigation measures, including archaeology.

Hugh Blackwood, Group Chief Executive, comments "We are very happy to have moved to the next stage of this contract which, once again, reflects our reputation for delivering high profile road projects. The A46 highlights the government's recently announced commitment to major expenditure in infrastructure projects. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Balfour Beatty and the Highways Agency."

~Ends~

Scott Wilson Group plc

Scott Wilson Group plc, with over 6,000 members of staff, is a multi-disciplinary international design and engineering consultancy for the built and natural environments. The Group has doubled in size over the past few years and from its UK headquarters currently controls a worldwide network of 80 offices.

www.scottwilson.com

Notes to Editors

Scott Wilson has provided multidisciplinary services in the development of the Scheme since 2004. Draft Orders and the Environmental Statement were published in early 2007 with the Public Inquiry held in the summer of 2007. Scott Wilson staff provided the 10 consultancy expert witnesses at the Inquiry. The Secretaries of States' decision letter accepting the recommendations in the inspector's report was in due course.

Scott Wilson will assist the Highways Agency in completing the statutory processes and commence the detailed design followed by construction supervision. Scott Wilson will provide transportation, highway, environmental, archaeology, geotechnical and structural design and site supervision services. Archaeology is a particularly important consideration as the route passes close to a number of important sites and follows the line of the roman road, The Fosse Way.

The relevant details of DfT's Press Release of 19 December 2008 is below.

…it was today confirmed work to dual the A46 from Newark to Widmerpool is planned to begin next summer. Last month the Transport Secretary announced an extra £174 million was being made available by the Department for this scheme as part of the Government's commitment to bringing forward infrastructure investment wherever possible. The next important milestone has now been passed with the scheme orders approved following a public inquiry. This will allow the improved link between the M1 at Leicester and A1 at Newark to open to traffic in late 2011 - five years earlier than as previously planned.

Geoff Hoon said:

 "I am … pleased to be able to confirm today that dualling of the 28km section of the A46 has been given the go-ahead following acceptance of the inspector's recommendations from a public inquiry. Dualling the last remaining single carriageway section between M1 J21a north of Leicester and Newark Western Relief Road will relieve congestion on this busy route and improve safety. It will also help boost the local economy.

"The Government is committed to bringing forward infrastructure investment wherever possible. It is great news for the region that dualling the missing section of the A46 from Newark to Widmerpool has been given the go-ahead. Together with the extra funding I announced last month, this means work could start next summer - two years early - on providing a new fast link between the A1 and M1. This would open to traffic in late 2011 - rather than 2016 as previously planned."

1. The A46 is a regional project that has been identified for accelerated delivery under the Government's fiscal stimulus package. It is an important regional route in the East Midlands linking Leicester and Lincoln.

2. The 28km section of the A46 between Newark and Widmerpool is the last remaining single carriageway section of the A46 between the M1 J21a north of Leicester and Newark Western Relief Road. Congestion and unreliable journey times are key problems, and accident rates on the southern section are higher than the national average for a single carriageway road. The scheme, which was added to the Targeted Programme of Improvements in 2001, will upgrade the route to dual carriageway standard, provide for eight full grade-separated junctions and an improved roundabout at Farndon. Bypasses will be provided for East Stoke and Farndon. 

3. Following the introduction of Regional Funding Allocations in 2005/06 the region prioritised the scheme for funding and scheduled the start of works date to 2012/13. The scheme was subsequently taken to Public Inquiry in 2007. 

4. A local public inquiry was held on eighteen sitting days between 3 to 25 July and 5 to 18 September 2007, at the Bearings, Bowbridge Road, Newark, Nottingham, before Mr Colin Tyrrell, MA (Oxon), CEng, MICE, FIHT, an independent Inspector appointed by the Secretaries of State for Transport and for Planning.

5. The decision to make the orders needed for the scheme follows acceptance of the Inquiry Inspector's recommendation in his report to the Secretaries of State. The decision letter and the Inspector's report are available on the DfT's website

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/network/strategic/programme/decisionletters/

6. The Department for Transport is offering to contribute £174 million of additional funding to the Region, including all of the costs incurred in 2009/10. This represents 50% of the current central estimate of scheme cost, excluding historic costs. Historic costs are those incurred on the scheme prior to the 2008/09 financial year. The East Midlands Regional Assembly, and the Region's Housing, Planning & Transport Joint Board has agreed to accelerate the scheme and to find their share of the costs from their Regional Funding Allocation. This will be subject to final ratification by the full Regional Assembly in February 2009.

7. The revised cost range estimate for this scheme is £322m to £409m, with a central estimate of £365m. The total cost estimate includes historic costs of £17m. Without historic costs the central estimate for start of works in 2009 is £348 million.