Tier ones get to work on Lower Thames Crossing bids
14 Mar 2022 By Rob Horgan
Tier one contractors shortlisted for the Lower Thames Crossing roads packages have been told to start working on their bids.
National Highways has today formally begun the invitation to tender phase of procurement for its £1.9bn Lower Thames Crossing roads contractors.
The £1.9bn investment covers two contracts, one for roads north of the Thames in Essex and a second for roads south of the river in Kent. A third contract to build the tunnels themselves and the approach roads, worth £2.1bn, will be tendered in the coming weeks.
Five shortlisted bidders were announced across the two contracts last year in response to National Highways initial call for interest.
The £1.3bn Roads North of the Thames contract includes 16km of new road, more than 30 structures including four green bridges and viaducts, and junctions with the A13 and M25, 40km of paths and new parks and woodlands. Balfour Beatty and a JV between Kier and Eiffage will compete for the contract.
Meanwhile, the £600m Kent Roads package includes 6km of new road, a junction with the A2, three green bridges, 20km of pathways and a new park near Gravesend. The shortlisted bidders include a JV between Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial and Vinci; Costain; a JV between Kier and Eiffage; and Skanska.
Contractors will be judged on their ability to strip carbon emissions out of the construction process, after the project was designated a pathfinder project to explore carbon neutral construction in the UK.
Contracts are due to be awarded in summer 2023, with construction planned for the following year.
The proposed Lower Thames Crossing includes the longest road tunnel in the UK and 23km of new road that would almost double road capacity across the River Thames east of London.
Shortlisted bidders have been invited to work up their bids, despite delays to the project’s development consent order (DCO) application.
National Highways – then Highways England – was forced to pull its original plans following feedback from the Planning Inspectorate in November 2020. It was then due to go in before the end of last year, but was held up after the government announced an expansion at the Port of Tilbury which uses land original earmarked by National Highways for spoil.
National Highways now expects to resubmit its DCO application later this year, after holding a short consultation on construction changes enforced by the Port of Tilbury scheme.
Lower Thames Crossing programme procurement director Katharine Ferguson said: “Our roads are at the heart of our way of life, and will continue to be long into our low-carbon future.
“The Lower Thames Crossing will improve journeys for millions of people, create opportunities for local people and businesses, as well as help the country on the road to net zero. We know the construction industry shares our ambitions, and I am incredibly excited to see how we can work together to set a new bar for low-carbon construction and maximise the benefits to the local community.”
The bidders are:
Kent Roads (lot one) – £600m:
BFV JV; comprising of Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial Construction (UK) and Vinci Construction Grands Projets;
Costain;
Kier Eiffage JV; comprising of Kier Highways Limited and Eiffage Génie Civil;
Skanska Construction UK.
Roads North of the Thames (lot two) – £1.3bn:
Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering;
Kier Eiffage JV; comprising of Kier Highways Limited and Eiffage Génie Civil.