Graham wins £79.5m Clyde bridge contract

Councillors in Renfrewshire have approved the award of the £79.5m construction contract for the first opening road bridge over the River Clyde.The Clyde Waterfront & Renfrew Riverside project will be carried out by Graham, with the contract due to be finalised later this month following conclusion of the procurement process.Centrepiece of the project is a twin-leaf swing bridge for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians crossing between Renfrew and the boundary between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire.The project, which will create new connections into Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), is jointly funded by the UK and Scottish governments through the £1.13bn Glasgow City Region city deal. It will support about 700 jobs during its construction and generate hundreds of subcontract and supplier opportunities.All planning consent is in place; construction is scheduled to start in spring and take three years to complete, with the contract to be finalised later this month following conclusion of the procurement process.Further Glasgow City Region City Deal funding is supporting Renfrewshire Council as it converts a 52-hectare site next to Glasgow Airport into the research and development centre for advanced manufacturing, AMIDS. Construction of the underpinning infrastructure is scheduled for completion this year and plans are progressing for a specialist carbon reducing district heating network, campus square and riverside green spaces. The district has already attracted £185m in infrastructure, research, innovation and skills facilities, with construction started on both the flagship National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) headquarters facility and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.