The civil contractor Osborne received a preliminary works contract from Highways England for the proposed £1.7bn upgrade. This route passes through a tunnel under Stonehenge on the A303 and between Amesbury and Berwick Down.
Osborne will deliver site clearance, ecological mitigation work, associated highways alterations and utilities work as part of the £8.5m prelims work. Highways England also awarded Wessex Archaeology a record-breaking £35m contract for archaeological protection.
The fieldwork will start in late spring 2021 after the planning consent is granted for the scheme. The 2-mile tunnelling project and 8-mile dual carriageway through the world heritage site will find the decision on 13 November on the development consent.
Highways England is also currently progressing the procurement process for the main works contract. Procurement chiefs are participating in dialogue with bidding consortia before they submit their final tenders. The preferred bidder is expected to be announced in late 2021.
Shortlisted consortia
- HDJV – Hochtief Infrastructure and Dragados
- BMJV – Bouygues Travaux Publics and J Murphy & Sons
- MORE JV – FCC Construcción Salini Impregilo and BeMo Tunnelling UK.
English 