20/05/04 - Bidders picked for vital road scheme

Four commercial groups have been selected by Cumbria County Council as the bidders to build the Carlisle northern development route. The shortlist was approved by the county council’s cabinet on Tuesday. The bidders will be invited to negotiate on details of the scheme, which is a private finance initiative. They are:   

·Connect CNDR   

·Sir Robert McAlpine   

·Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd   

·Vinci Investments Ltd   

Councillor Kevan Wilkinson, Cabinet member with responsibility for transport and infrastructure, said:   

"This will be a key investment by the county council and will achieve a number of aims. It will be crucial for maximising the development of Kingmoor Park as a strategic employment site. It will also be a major improvement to transport links to support regeneration in West Cumbria. Carlisle’s through traffic should also be considerably reduced, easing the burden on the city’s road network. Lastly, the roads included in the project will receive consistent maintenance over the 30-year term of the contract."   

After the project was advertised in February, 39 expressions of interest were received from individual contractors. In March 20 of them attended an open day at Carlisle Racecourse to see a presentation and meet senior council representatives and the project team. By the closing date, seven separate submissions had been received. If all goes well, a PFI contract will be signed in summer 2005, with construction starting in the autumn. Completion of the road can then be expected by autumn 2007.      The CNDR will link the M6 at junction 44 at Greymoorhill with the A595 road from Carlisle to Workington and Whitehaven, joining it at Newby West.