Four in race for £415m motorways contract

Published on 23/06/2012 01:55

FOUR “world-class” contractors are in the running for a £415 million project to upgrade some of Scotland’s key motorways.

Work is to be carried out to complete the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow and improve parts of the M73 and M74.

It should mean motorists benefiting from shorter journey times and improved road safety.

The works include the upgrading of the A8 from Baillieston to Newhouse to complete the M8.

Improvements to the M74 Raith interchange are planned, along with the widening of key sections of the M8, M73 and M74.

Work is expected to start late next year and be completed by 2017.

The project is of a similar scale to the extension of the M74 into Glasgow, which supported 900 construction jobs but attracted only one bid.

Four consortiums have been selected to bid for the latest work: Scotia Roads Group, Scottish Roads Partnership, Connect Roads and Caledonia Roads Group.

Infrastructure secretary Alex Neil said he was “delighted to see such strong interest in this project from a host of world-class contractors”.

He said: “Strong competition can only be good news for the taxpayer and we also know from our experience on our recent, successful M74 completion and M80 projects, this kind of infrastructure project will undoubtedly boost the local and Scottish economy, supporting hundreds of local construction and supplier jobs.”

As part of the deal, the successful contractor will have to provide training for apprentices, as well as job opportunities for local people.

Mr Neil said: “This project will see us complete the vital Central Belt motorway network and is good news for motorists, for the construction industry and for the Scottish economy.”

It is predicted the improvements will cut the number of accidents by more than 100 a year.