News Story

Costain wins major road contract

The new lanes will see improvements made to the M25 between Junctions 1b and 3 near Dartford, and the A2 between Bean in Kent and the M25.

The contract covers the widening of the motorway between the aforementioned junctions, south of Dartford Crossing, from three to four lanes over a distance of four miles. This section is the first of the proposed schemes to get the go-ahead to widen the remaining three lane sections of the M25. The widening will take place within the highway boundary, so no extra land needs to be purchased for the £66m scheme.

The second part of the scheme will see the A2 widened from three to four lanes between Bean and its junction with the M25/A282. This widening covers a total distance of 1.5 miles. The £72m includes link roads from the M25/A282 in the North to the A2 in the East.

The contract has been awarded under the Highways Agency’s Early Contractor Involvement initiative, which brings the contractor in at an early stage to start designing and building the scheme.

The statutary procedures are currently being completed on the A2/A282 project and work is expected to start in early 2006.

The next stage on the M25 project is the publication of the Environmental Statement, expected in spring 2006.

Alan Kay, Costain Operations Director for Major Civil Engineering, said: “This will be one of the UK’s major road projects and it is tremendous news for Costain to be appointed the contractor responsible. We now look forward to working with the Highways Agency and achieving complete success.”