The development of Weymouth’s long-awaited relief road reached an important milestone last month (13th June 2007) . Owen Williams - part of Amey plc, a leading support services company – in partnership with Skanska UK Civil Engineering, has announced a new contract with Dorset County Council for the detailed design and construction of the 10km of single carriageway road, 9 bridges and a Park and Ride facility.
The Owen Williams-Skanska partnership won a competitive tender for the project, which was assessed for both quality and price.
Michael Winter, Dorset County Council’s project director, said: “Skanska and Owen Williams have a wealth of experience in building technically demanding and environmentally sensitive projects like the proposed relief road.”
Colonel Geoffrey Brierley, cabinet member for transport, added: “We are looking forward to Skanska supporting our own engineers through the remaining statutory procedures. When these are completed, they will be given the green light to complete the design work necessary for construction works to commence. There is a lot to be done but we still hope that a start can be made on site early in 2008.”
Martyn Harris, Design Manager from Owen Williams, added: “[I am extremely pleased that the contract has now been signed and we look forward to actively engaging with the client, contractor and other stakeholders on this exciting project.”
The £84.5 million scheme is designed to relieve mounting congestion along both the A354 from Weymouth-Dorchester and the A353 to the east, and is included in the Department for Transport's regional funding allocation (RFA) for projects to start during the next three years.
The County Council’s planning committee recently granted planning permission for the scheme, and compulsory purchase orders have been made to secure some of the land required. Construction work is set to start early next year, and the road is should be completed in 2011.