Contract for major road scheme awarded following collapse of Carillion
The contract for the first two phases of the £126m East Leeds Orbital Road (ELOR) scheme has been awarded to Balfour Beatty, following the collapse of Carillion.
The initial highway works are part of the wider East Leeds Extension (ELE) programme, including development of land at Thorpe Park and Manston Lane Link Road. Leeds City Council has awarded the contract and said that the it followed contingency measures taken to deal with the risk of the original preferred supplier, Carillion, being unable to deliver the work.
The current estimate is that the overall cost of all works involved in the East Leeds Orbital Road package will be £126m.
The first two phases of ELOR include implementing improvements to a number of existing Outer Ring Road junctions, as well as developing the design for the main ELOR. Work is planned to start this summer and last for around 15 months. The main ELOR construction will then move forward from late 2019 subject to statutory approvals and land acquisition.
In March, Leeds City Council announced it had made Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and Side Roads Order (SRO) for the East Leeds Orbital Road (ELOR) so that land could be acquired for the scheme.
Councillor Richard Lewis, of Leeds City Council, said: “This is great news for the long term future of East Leeds and the city as a whole. The investment in ELOR will make for better, more efficient journeys and the new and improved roads will move and manage traffic away from existing residential areas.
“Not only this, but updated pedestrian and cycleway infrastructure and carefully designed landscaping and drainage are planned.
“ELE and ELOR will also see extra jobs, homes and transport improvements – significant opportunities as ELE and the new orbital road play their part in Leeds’s continued economic growth and success.
As a major strategic growth area for the city, ELE will see undeveloped land earmarked for the development of around 5,000 new homes, community facilities, new schools and local retail outlets.
