Winners named on Highways England's £4.5bn smart motorways programme

Highways England has named three contractor partners to deliver the future smart motorway programme worth up to £4.5bn.

Costain has secured the northern region, BAM Nuttall/Morgan Sindall joint venture is reported to have won the Midlands and Balfour Beatty the southern area.

The 10-year framework will see the SMP Alliance deliver the key smart motorway elements of the Government’s second Road Investment Strategy.

Reports suggest Costain will now deliver the A66 to Scotch Corner project worth around £1bn and the M62 Huddersfield to Rochdale smart motorway upgrade.

Alex Vaughan, CEO of Costain, said: 'We are delighted to have been selected as one of the partners to the SMP Alliance.

'This strategic programme will deliver the much-needed capacity and safety improvements across the strategic road network in England.'

Costain has also been awarded a £210m design and build contract by Highways England to upgrade an existing section of the A30 north of Truro, Cornwall.

The scope of work includes the upgrading of an 8.7-mile section between Chiverton Cross and Carland Cross from a single carriageway to a dual carriageway, together with the construction of new grade-separated junctions, slip roads and bridges. Detailed design will commence in April 2020 with works commencing in the coming months. The new upgrade is expected to be open for traffic by the end of 2023.