Cumbria holds a massive amount of potential, with upcoming works exceeding £1billion.
At Unite People, we are especially excited about the prospect of three upcoming projects for which we will be heavily recruiting:
- A66 Northern Trans-Pennine - £1.2 billion
- Lune Gorge - £185m
- Carlisle Southern Relief Road - £65m
A66 Northern Trans-Pennine
Presently on the A66, Early Contractor Involvement is under way. Enabling works are set to begin in 2023 and the project will start in 2024. The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) has accepted the Development Consent Order (DCO) which means the project can now progress into examination.
Project Brief
The project consists of work to complete the dualling of the A66, from Scotch Corner to Penrith, with a rough package value of £1.3bn. All remaining single-carriageway sections, totalling 18 miles, will be dualled, with improvements made to junctions, too. The developments will benefit locals while bolstering tourism and industry both regionally and nationally, through improved connections to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
True to the maxim ‘many hands make light work’, the dualling of the A66, known as the ‘Northern Trans-Pennine Project,’ sees four key clients joining forces to deliver the upgrade, fast. Halving construction time an anticipated ten years to only five, Keltbray, Costain, Kier and Balfour Beatty have been enlisted to work on four works packages simultaneously. The works are divided into eleven schemes, with one solely allocated to Keltbray, three each for Balfour Beatty and Kier, and four for Costain.
Project Benefits
The project will make the journey between Penrith and Scotch Corner safer, more reliable and less congested, meanwhile benefitting the economy and environment.[i]
The project is of great importance, since lives will be saved through its completion: shockingly, the road suffers 50 per cent more fatalities than any other in the country. Little surprise then, that it qualifies as a ‘nationally significant infrastructure project.’[ii]
Currently, the road bears over double the typical national average of freight and due to its location, suffers extreme tailbacks when there is an incident because there are no viable alternative routes.
This is not the only thing setting the project apart from others – as Head of Design and Project Manager Monica Corso-Griffiths explains – the project has implemented a ‘reasonable worst case scenario’ methodology. This fast-tracks processes by anticipating mitigations, such as the assumption that all protected species will be present. Assurance and governance have been accelerated too, by streamlining and merging stages to push the boundaries of usual processes. Clearly, efficiency is of high concern for Corso-Griffiths, who has taken full advantage of continued support from PINS through their enhanced pre-application service. Corso-Griffiths outlines the need for developing data in advance: “the intention is that we can have it well developed and ready for construction early.”[iii]
National Highways’ Project Director Lee Hillyard saw the Spring 2022 project update as a “perfect opportunity” to show how gathered responses from over 1200 people helped shape its final design.[iv]
Lune Gorge
National Highways’ Lune Gorge Scheme is due to commence November 2022 for up to a 2 year design period, so far awarded £2m, before 3 to 4 years of £185m construction work begins. The works consists of a 3-lane carriageway and hard shoulder and involves the replacement of 14 bridge decks combined between Junctions 37 and 38. The scheme forms part of National Highways’ allocation of £129m to road improvements in the North West, announced in June this year.[v]
A well-used route since the Roman age, Lune Gorge is unique because it represents the greatest topographical challenge of the M6, the longest motorway in the country.[vi] The natural gorge of the River Lune boasts spectacular scenery as the road courses through the beautiful Cumbrian Mountains. The scheme is notorious for its distinctiveness, hence its generous £185m budget, and follows the celebrated 50th anniversary of the M6 Lune Gorge, which enjoyed much press attention.
Carlisle Southern Link Road (CSLR)
Project Brief:
The Carlisle Southern Link Road will connect Junction 42 of the M6 with the A595 at Newby West. It will also link up the Carlisle Northern Development route to Junction 44 on the M6.
Proposed works include cycle bridges, a cycle path alongside the route’s full length, and four new roundabouts. Additionally, four road bridges will improve connections, one of which crosses the West Coast Main Line, the other the Cumbrian Coast Line. The two remaining bridges negotiate both Caldew and Petteril rivers, which run either side of the city.
Project Benefits:
The 8km stretch will provide vital infrastructure, relieving congestion in Carlisle. The road will not only improve access for vehicles but thanks to its expansive system of footpaths and cycleways, will help to bolster the city’s environmental credentials.
The project facilitates further growth within Carlilse, for example the council-led initiative St Cuthbert’s Garden Village. This scheme will bring 10,000 new homes by 2030 and with it much employment to the area, and crucially, its success and timely deliverance depends on the construction of CSLR.
Project Challenges:
Having been left unresolved for four months, Cumbria County Council announced in March this year their decision to retender the 8km road scheme, since Morgan Sindall’s proposed offer ‘significantly exceeded budget’ and included several unexpected amendments to the initial Stage 2 contract.[vii] The council initially hoped to adhere to their original budget of £65m, though this aim seemed increasingly dubious given inflated fuel costs and the unpredictability of supply chains due to the implications of Brexit, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine.[viii]
Together with its delivery partner Carlisle County Council, Cumbria County Council have since admitted an application to the government for further funding to deliver the scheme, which awaits a response from Homes England. The councils have now announced that in early September they will publish an invitation to tender for a new Design & Build contract of up to £150m, including all labour and materials.[ix] These statistics reveal the importance of the project to the region, and the current distinguished position held by infrastructure and Civil Engineering within the UK. Imminently, the successful bidder will be named, and we’ll be proudly placing engineers on this prestigious project!
[i] National Highways, https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/a66-northern-trans-pennine/benefits/
[ii] Rob Hakimian, “How four major contactors are collaborating to deliver the £1bn A66 upgrade at double speed,” New Civil Engineer, https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/how-four-major-contractors-are-collaborating-to-deliver-the-1bn-a66-upgrade-at-double-speed-11-07-2022/ 11 Jul 2022.
[iii] Ibid.
[iv] Lee Hillyard, quoted in “Public play key role in refined A66 plans,” National Highways, https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/a66-northern-trans-pennine/latest-news/public-play-key-role-in-refined-a66-plans/ 22 Mar 2022.
[v] “£128 million investment in the region’s motorways and major A roads,” National Highways,
[vi] “Talking the high road as Cumbria’s M6 reaches 50,” Gov.UK, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/talking-the-high-road-as-cumbrias-scenic-m6-reaches-50 23 Oct 2020
[vii] https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2022/07/28/cost-inflation-stalls-65m-carlisle-southern-link-road/
[viii] Carlisle Southern Link Road, https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/cslr/
[ix] Rob Hakimian, “Cost of Carlisle Southern Link Road doubles to £150M as contractors put on notice for job,”
New Civil Engineer, https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/cost-of-carlisle-southern-link-road-doubles-to-150m-as-contractors-put-on-notice-for-job-16-08-2022/ 16 Aug 2022.
