Costain wins £85m motorway contract
CONSTRUCTION group Costain has won the £85m contract to strengthen a motorway bridge on the M53 in Birkenhead.
The Highways Agency has awarded a design and construction contract to handle the M53 Bidston Moss Viaduct.
Bidston Moss Viaduct is a 730-metre long box girder bridge which carries the M53 over the A554 roundabout and the Birkenhead to New Brighton railway.
It is jointly owned by the Highways Agency, Wirral Council and Merseytravel, owners and operators of the Mersey Tunnels.
The Viaduct was opened in 1970 and is the main route into the Kingsway Tunnel under the River Mersey. It is used by over 50,000 vehicles daily including 3,000 heavy goods vehicles.
The viaduct is being strengthened for the third time. During 1998-99, it had to be fortified to meet new laws governing the introduction of 40-tonne trucks onto UK roads.
It is understood Wirral Council and Merseytravel together will contribute up to £4.5 million of funding with the Government providing all further funding.
Design work will start this month and last for 15 months. Construction will start in summer 2010 and take around 20 months to complete.
Costain’s chief executive Andrew Wyllie said: “This contract award further underlines our position as one of the leaders in the construction and maintenance of highways in the UK.”
