New Civil Engineer
29 March 2012
View all stories from this issue.
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Amey scoops £2bn Sheffield highways PFI mega-deal
Amey has been chosen by Sheffield City Council as the private contractor for maintaining the city’s highway network for the next 25 years, it has just been revealed. -
Arup, Mott MacDonald, Atkins and Capita tipped for High Speed 2 civils contracts
Consultants Arup, Mott MacDonald, Atkins and Capita Symonds are expected to be formally revealed as the winners of the four remaining lucrative civil and structural design contracts, NCE understands. -
Babcock consortium takes over Dounreay Site Restoration
A Babcock-led consortium has formally taken ownership of Dounreay Site Restoration (DSRL) — the firm responsible for cleaning up and closing the redundant nuclear site in the north of Scotland. -
Balfour Beatty poised for £500M highways job
Balfour Beatty is set to win the second of the Highways Agency’s new-look maintenance contracts despite losing out on the first on a pricing technicality. -
Balfour Beatty restructure will not lead to job losses for operational staff
Contracting giant Balfour Beatty has said that it does not expect “operational staff” to lose their jobs as a result of a major restructure of its Construction Services UK division. -
Big Bang pushed students to new highs
Teams of students at the 2012 Big Bang Fair at the Birmingham NEC earlier this month competed to build the tallest observation tower for an imaginary ski resort at the ICE stand. -
Blow for new nuclear as RWE and Eon confirm withdrawal from Horizon
Energy giants RWE and Eon have pulled out of their joint venture Horizon and will no longer pursue new nuclear projects in the UK, it has been confirmed. -
Coackley witnesses Crossrail start
ICE President Richard Coackley and Crossrail chief engineer Chris Dulake, at the “Ready to Dig” event marking the start of the Crossrail tunneling earlier this month. -
Consultants revealed for Mersey Gateway
Major consultants High-Point Rendel, Flint and Neill and Jacobs are all in the running to design the £600M Mersey Gateway crossing, NCE can reveal. -
Crossrail Moorgate over site development given green light
Plans submitted by Crossrail and Aviva Investors for a commercial and retail development above the new Crossrail Liverpool Street Station western ticket hall shaft at 101 Moorgate have been given the go ahead by the Corporation of London. -
Crossrail: On the blocks
Construction of the mammoth £14.5bn Crossrail project is on the cusp of full-blown construction, with the first tunnel boring machine ready to launch. Mark Hansford updates on progress. -
ERM named NCE/ACE Global Consultant of the Year
Environmental consulting giant ERM has been named Global Consultant of the Year in the prestigious NCE/ACE Consultants of the Year awards. -
Fehmarnbelt bidders could be compensated
Joint venture partners seeking work on the €5.5bn (£4.6bn) Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany could be compensated for tender work if their bids are unsuccessful. -
Fehmarnbelt crossing on hunt for bidders
Scheme promoter Femern has kicked off a scramble for work on Europe’s €5.5bn (£4.6bn) Fehmarnbelt mega project that will link Germany and Denmark via a vast 18km long, 42m wide immersed tube tunnel. -
Final section of steel lifted into place on London's Shard
Developer Sellar has announced that the final section of steel has been lifted into place on the Shard, 310m above London. -
Government reveals shrunken planning guidelines
The government has today published its National Planning Policy Framework, which reduces the planning guidelines from 1,000 plus pages to a 50 page document. -
Great Western Main Line £400M signalling upgrade underway
The £400M scheme to modernise the 1960s signalling infrastructure on the Great Western Main Line has started, Network Rail announced yesterday. -
Green group declares Britain's new nuclear plans dead
Environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) has declared Britain’s new nuclear aspirations as over following Eon and RWE’s decision to abandon plans to build plants in the UK. -
High Speed 1 underwhelming passenger numbers exposed taxpayer to debt risk
Underwhelming passenger numbers on the UK’s first super-fast railway, High Speed 1, have left the taxpayer exposed to a potential debt risk, according to a report by public spending watchdog the National Audit Office. -
High Speed 2 awards remaining environmental contracts
A consortium of ERM, Temple Group and Mott MacDonald, along with Atkins and Arup (supported by URS) have today emerged as winners of the remaining four Environmental Services consulting contracts for High Speed 2. -
Highways Agency confirms just four major schemes to start this year
The Highways Agency has confirmed that intends to start work on just four major schemes in the next financial year, the first year to feel the full force of the 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review cuts. -
Hill International wins three major contracts in Iraq
Hill International has been awarded three contracts to provide project management and construction management services for various clients in Iraq. -
Hyder wins contract to design 50 Qatar reservoirs
Hyder has scooped a giant deal to design up to 50 massive reservoirs for the Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa). -
Innovation will be key to securing place on Fehmarnbelt scheme
Bidders for the Fehmarnbelt link tunnelling contracts will be required to come up with innovative industrialised processes for standard element production, project bosses said last week. -
Instrumentation key to LUL value engineering
Monitoring and instrumentation is playing a key role in allowing London Underground to efficiently maintain its geotechnical assets claims Transport for London principal geotechnical engineer Dr Nadar Saffari. -
Learning on the job is a vital educational aid
We mustn’t allow the recession to restrict work experience opportunities. -
Letters: The perils of redistributing water around the country
As someone who has worked in the water sector for over 20 years, I am always puzzled by the assumption often made that reservoirs are bad for the environment.The one near us - Chew Valley Lake near Bristol - is both a great source of recreation and an excellent bird -
London Bridge redevelopment gets planning permission
Network Rail’s £500M redevelopment of London Bridge station has been awarded formal planning consent. -
Major £194M upgrade of A453 given green light
A major scheme to widen the A453 between M1 Junction 24 and the Nottingham Ring Road has been given the go-ahead after completing its final planning stages, roads minister Mike Penning has announced. -
Mouchel to shut offices in major restructure
Consultant Mouchel is to restructure into two main businesses in a move that will save it £18M a year. -
NCE 29.03.12 Fehmarn Frenzy
Promoter’s kick start scramble for contracts on £5bn mega-tunnel between Denmark and Germany -
Network Rail ushers in European style signalling with framework announcement
Network Rail has appointed four suppliers to a framework for the development and design of a new European-standard signalling system. -
New guidance for piling through coal issued
A new best practice guide published today by the Coal Authority is aiming to reduce the risk from encountering hazardous gases when drilling or piling through coal seams and former mine workings. -
Parsons Brinckerhoff employed for wider South East airports study
The recently formed South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has appointed consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff to carry out a new study to identify how airports in the Greater South East can be more effective and efficient and their growth potential. -
Parts of Yorkshire join the South East and Anglia in drought
Parts of Yorkshire have today moved into official drought status after another dry month has left river levels and underground water supplies depleted, the Environment Agency has said. -
Piletec aids precision piling at One Tower Bridge
Over 1000 rotary bored piles are currently being installed on the South Bank close to Tower Bridge in London by Miller Piling for Berkley Homes’ new residential and retail development, One Tower Bridge. -
Pitt turns down Hinkley extension request
Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) chairman Sir Michael Pitt has turned down a request by two councils to extend the six month examination period to enable their review of theHinkley Point nuclear station planning proposal. -
Poole Twin Sails bridge delayed after cracks appear in road
Contractors were this week scrambling to resurface Poole’s brand new Twin Sails bridge after cracks appeared in the road and the opening had to be put back. -
Prime minister’s ICE visit was ‘pivotal’ says president
Prime minister David Cameron’s decision to make his pre-Budget infrastructure announcement at the ICE last week is testimony to the respect, reputation and influence ICE and its members have built through sound, consistent advice and expertise, said ICE president Richard Coackley. -
Rail culvert collapse triggers safety fears
Poor maintenance and a lack of rigour in recording the condition of small, safety critical rail assets has been highlighted in a report on the collapse of a culvert under a railway line near Bromsgrove, accident investigators said last week. -
Smart lifter
Hevilifts has developed a versatile system for lifting, lowering and tilting structures. -
Thirteen shortlisted for Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside rail franchises
Rail minister Theresa Villiers has revealed that a total of 13 firms are in the running to become the next operators of the Great Western, Thameslink and Essex Thameside rail franchises. -
Transport Scotland holds motorway improvements industry day
Transport Scotland today hosted an industry day to generate interest for its M8/M73/M74 Motorway Improvements project. -
Weight restriction on key M4 viaduct extended after inspection reveals worsening condition
The Highways Agency’s weight restrictions on the elevated section of the M4 between junctions 1 and 3 have been extended to include any vehicles weighing more than 7.5t. -
Why mega projects are always a platform for growth
Frequently asked infrastructure question No 1: “High Speed 2 (HS2)- will it ever get built?” -
Wind farm survey boost for Fugro
Development of onshore wind farms in Scotland is creating a demand for hi-tech surveying work for Fugro-BKS. -
Work starts on £4M Ipswich to Lowestoft 'loop'
Work has started to build a passing loop to enable more frequent services to run between Ipswich and Lowestoft, Network Rail revealed yesterday.
