Skanska appointed to M42 improvement scheme

A well-renown modular building contractor company known as Skanska has been appointed to a £143M contract, spanning a total duration of five years, that will see to the improvement of Junction Six of the M42 near Birmingham Airport.

Skanska, under the contract specification, will serve as the main contractor for this project while Mott MacDonald will operate as the design partner, with both companies having been hired by the commissioning body, Highways England.

The Highways Director at Skanska, Glennan Blackmore stated: “This is the first Regional Delivery Partnership contract we have entered into and we are very excited to be working with Highways England to deliver this key upgrade.

“Highways England have been developing plans to improve this link for a long time and we are delighted to be helping them realise their ambition, which we hope will benefit the public enormously.

“We are looking forward to delivering this project and ensuring the safe and reliable operation of the road network, along with supporting economic growth in the area for our customer and the public.”

Furthermore, the scheme is set to commence this year and will be focussed on increasing the current capacity of the motorway as well as reducing congestion while also improving access for cyclists and pedestrians.

The Roads Director and Skanska Account Leader, Steve Ellis commented: “Mott MacDonald are proud to be a key part of the partnership with Skanska and Highways England and are enthusiastic about the opportunity this contract and the framework presents.

“We look forward to working in collaboration with the whole team to develop new ways of working through connecting thinking and a truly integrated approach.

“Beginning with the end in mind, we will lead the team initiative to realise the potential of the design phase to improve the safety and certainty of scheme delivery and operation.”

The Highways England Senior Project Manager, Jonathan Pizzey added: “This is a major upgrade to improve the M42 Junction Six near Solihull because the junction has almost reached capacity, causing severe congestion and delays across the network.

“Highways England’s proposed improvement scheme would provide a comprehensive upgrade of the junction near Birmingham Airport, allowing better movement of traffic on and off the A45, supporting access to the airport and preparing capacity for the new High Speed Two station.”

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