Balfour Beatty has been given the green light to start two key projects and has had another term maintenance deal extended with a reduced workload.
The contracting giant will start work in late 2025 on the £200m North Hykeham Relief Road in Lincolnshire (below) after the county council finally secured planning permission.
Balfour has been in place since April 2022 for the job, which is the final phase of a ring road around the city and will link the A46 Pennells Roundabout to the Lincoln Eastern Bypass.
Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: ‘Now that planning consent’s been granted, our team can formally enter into negotiations with landowners while continuing to prep all of the legal orders needed before construction can start.
‘Our current plan is to present these to Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee in June and then Executive in July, before making them live for public consultation. The focus will then be preparing a full business case for DfT [Department for Transport] before making a start on building the road late next year.’
Consultants Jacobs, Ramboll and WSP are all advising the council on the project, which comprises 8km of dual carriageway and will take around three years to complete.
Balfour is also gearing up for the delayed £170m A57 Mottram Bypass scheme after the last in a series of legal challenges was cleared.
Balfour Beatty was awarded the £108m construction contract three years ago but a judicial review that considered all legal challenges has only just ended with Judge Lady Justice Thornton confirming that the case against the scheme is now closed.
Formerly known as the Trans-Pennine Upgrade, the scheme is now referred to as the Mottram Moor Link Road and A57 Link Road project and comprises a new dual carriageway from Junction 4 of the M67 to a new junction on the A57(T) at Mottram Moor, plus a new single-carriageway link road from the A57(T) at Mottram Moor to a new junction on the A57 in Woolley Bridge.
In Southampton, the company’s existing relationship with the city council that began in 2010 is set to be extended for another five years with a new £60m deal. Balfour’s initial 10-year deal in 2010 was valued at £100m.
Cllr Eamonn Keogh, cabinet member for environment and transport comments: 'The council has entered into a feasibility stage to assess the viability of using the SCAPE Civil Engineering Framework (Term Service contract) to deliver highways and associated services.
'Subject to successful completion of the feasibility stage, we intend to enter into a contract with Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Limited (BBCE) for a maximum period of 5 years, but it has yet to do so. If a contract is awarded through this framework, it is intended that the services shall be delivered by Balfour Beatty Living Places Limited (BBLP) through an intercompany agreement or subcontracted arrangement between BBCE and BBLP.'
Another deal in Herefordshire that was valued at £200m when it began in 2013 will now end.
Balfour was awarded a £54m two-year extension to the Herefordshire Public Realm contract last December, but now the council has decided the contract will end in 2026 ‘because the current contract does not allow the council to deliver its longer-term requirements and aspirations’.
A new contract will start on 1 June 2026, but the council did not respond to questions from Highways about when procurement will begin.
Correction: This article has been amended to make clear that the Southampton procurement is still in the 'feasibility' stage.
