Balfour Beatty finally gets the nod to start £355m Hull road scheme

Balfour Beatty has been given the go-ahead to start work on the £355m A63 Castle Street road improvement scheme in Hull this summer.The A63 Castle Street scheme is designed to improve traffic flow between the Port of Hull, the A63 and M62 along with the wider strategic road network.Core of the project is the improvement of the Mytongate junction in Hull city centre by lowering the A63 by seven metres to create an underpass for through traffic to keep moving. Ferensway and Commercial Road will cross the A63, creating a split-level junction. The eastbound carriageway between Princes Dock Street and Market Place will be widened from two to three lanes, and a new bridge will be build over the A63 at Porter Street.The secretary of state for transport has finally signed off the scheme, to which Balfour Beatty was appointed by Highways England under an early contractor involvement (ECI) design and build contract way back in August 2014 – six years ago.The value of Balfour Beatty’s contract at that time was given as £75m, but project costs have spiralled since then, with the overall budget rising from £160m in 2013 to £250m in 2017 to £355m today.Meanwhile a new foot/cycle bridge over the A63, wheeled into place by Interserve last November, will open this summer. It will connect the city centre to the marina, waterfront and fruit market.Transport secretary Grant Shapps recently announced a new deadline of 17th July for his development consent order decision for three Highways England projects – the A63 Castle Street project plus the A303 Stonehenge and A303 Sparkford to Ilchester schemes in Wiltshire. With the A63 Castle Street project signed off on 1st June, ahead of the revised schedule, the A303 projects are next on his agenda.