Civils

Network Rail has been fined £3.41m following the death of a track worker in Surbiton.  Tyler Byrne died after being struck by a passenger train on 9 February 2021. He had been working as part of a four-man team undertaking track inspections while trains were running in both directions.  The…

A public spending watchdog has said HS2’s construction contracts are “extremely poor value for money” and is “unconvinced” they can be renegotiated to achieve significant savings. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) described HS2 as a “cycle of repeated failure” and “a casebook example of how not to run a major…

The government must take “urgent action” to ensure there are enough workers to deliver the UK’s green transition, its own infrastructure watchdog has said. In a report published this morning (21 February), the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) said skills shortages “pose a significant challenge for the deliverability of the energy…

Industry figures have warned that too little rail work is flowing through to suppliers, with grave potential consequences for jobs, delivery and safety. Dissatisfaction with spending through Network Rail’s Control Period 7 (CP7) has overflowed in a series of posts on social media. It comes after engineering services giant Renew…

A Yorkshire council has launched a tender for a £1bn civils framework in northern and central England. Sheffield City Council, which is leading the tender process on behalf of Yorkshire-based procurement organisation YORhub, expects to appoint eight contractors. The framework will last for four years with an optional two-year extension.…

The government has been urged to introduce five-year budgets for England’s local road maintenance in the upcoming Spending Review. Four trade bodies wrote to chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for the reform to “maximise efficiency, drive innovation and provide long-term certainty for the industry”. The call came from the Association for…

Heathrow Airport’s boss has announced a multibillion-pound plan to build new infrastructure while “laying the groundwork” for its long-proposed third runway. In a speech this morning (12 February) at British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye also signed the UK Steel Charter. This commits Heathrow to “using…

Farrans Construction is to continue its upgrade of Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) after picking up the contract for phase two of the programme. The contractor will increase the airport’s floorspace by nearly 40 per cent, which also includes a full refurbishment of the existing airport terminal. It is already onsite…

Environmental and engineering services giant RSK Group has grown its contracting revenue by 40 per cent but its pre-tax loss has deepened. The Cheshire-based firm reported construction turnover of £511.7m in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, up from £366.7m in the prior year. It said its contracting revenue…

A council is considering legal options to ensure it does not face an unexpected bill of up to £20m following a “design error” on a road bridge. The Grantham South Relief Road will cost between £10m and £20m more, and will open a year later than planned after the alleged…