New Civil Engineer
Alexandra Wynne

I'm NCE's News Editor and love nothing more than hearing all the gossip, news and views from the industry's key figures - so do get in touch if there's a burning issue you want to see in NCE's news pages. I also maintain a healthy focus on the key beats of transport and business stories, while keeping my nose in all things NCE - I struggle to leave behind my old role as the magazine's features editor. In the four years I've worked at NCE and its sister magazine Ground Engineering I joined the jet set and have been lucky enough to cultivate a love of some strange and wonderful places - from Albania to New Orleans.

Minister pledges electricity strike price before summer

24-May-2013
Agreement in principle over the price of electricity to be generated by renewable and low carbon sources will be reached before the summer recess, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has pledged.
HS2 chief engineer rails against construction inefficiency

21-May-2013
High Speed 2’s (HS2) chief engineer has heaped criticism on high costs of infrastructure in the UK and set out ways that his scheme will keep costs down.
MPs back third and fourth runway for Heathrow

13-May-2013
MPs this week attacked the idea that building a hub airport in the Thames Estuary hub airport can solve the UK’s aviation crisis.
Consultation key to Manchester station link

10-May-2013
Network Rail this week embarked upon its final consultation phase for a critical new viaduct connecting the key Manchester city centre stations.
Network Rail to prioritise sustainable bids

3-May-2013
Network Rail is to prioritise sustainability in such a way that complying bidders could win major projects work even if they came in with the highest price, NCE has learned.
West London tunnel for High Speed 2

1-May-2013
Government high speed rail project promoter HS2 Limited is to build part of the London section of the High Speed 2 (HS2) line to the North in tunnel rather than at ground level.
Four arrests after rail contract fraud investigation

18 April 2013
British Transport Police (BTP) has made four arrests as part of an investigation into an alleged contract fraud involving Network Rail, it confirmed to NCE this week.
Hope Springs for Plant

10-Apr-2013
A new materials company with an 800-strong workforce has quietly but assuredly entered the UK construction market. Alexandra Wynne speaks exclusively to Hope Construction Materials chief executive Chris Plant.
Four arrests made in rail contracts probe

9-Apr-2013
British Transport Police (BTP) has made four arrests in relation to an investigation into an alleged contract fraud involving Network Rail, it confirmed to NCE today.
Kier gains access to May Gurney's books ahead of offer decision

4-Apr-2013
Contractor Kier has today said that it has gained access to and is looking through the books of contractor May Gurney as part of its due diligence ahead of deciding whether it wants to make an offer for the firm.
Costain to buy May Gurney in all-share merger deal

27-Mar-2013
Contractor Costain is set to buy fellow contractor May Gurney in a £178M, all-share merger deal that will see the combined group named Costain May Gurney, it was announced last night.
Government accepts the need for Crossrail 2, says London mayor

21-Mar-2013
The Treasury is in principle supportive of the proposed Crossrail 2 scheme, London mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday.
Budget 2013: Industry welcomes additional money but pleads for greater clarity

20-Mar-2013
Industry responded with vigour to chancellor George Osborne’s 2013 Budget statement, swaying somewhere between welcoming the extra annual £3bn spend on infrastructure from 2015/16 and pleading for more detail on where the money will go.
Budget 2013: Chancellor claws £3bn savings to divert into infrastructure from 2015/16

20-Mar-2013
Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget has today revealed plans to claw back additional savings across government departments in the current spending period to divert £3bn per year into growth-stimulating infrastructure projects from 2015/16.
CBI urges Osborne to fast track road and rail

13-Mar-2013
The government should focus on fast-tracking four or five of its 40 priority infrastructure projects, business leaders said last week.
Picking through procurement perils

7 March 2013
That guardian of taxpayer value for money, the Commons public accounts committee, added its voice last week to the growing hubbub questioning whether government departments are truly qualified to procure our infrastructure services.
EdF seeks direct employers for nuclear work

7 March 2013
Energy giant EdF has stressed the importance it places on the use of directly employed managers and site workers to firms bidding for work on its Hinkley Point C project.
Rights issue to shore up Severfield Rowen

7 March 2013
Structural steel giant Severfield- Rowen is proposing a £47.9M rights issue in an attempt to reduce its debt after reporting losses in 2012.
West Coast franchise failures could be repeated - MPs

28 February 2013
MPs have warned that failings in the cancelled West Coast Main Line train operating franchise competition could recur and undermine the High Speed 2 and Thameslink franchise competitions.
Glendoe power station restarts

25 October 2012
A public exhibition last weekend formally marked the restart of the 100MW Glendoe hydroelectric plant in Scotland.
Recycling plants may see new regulations for fire and building

23 August 2012
Building Regulations and fire safety standards must be amended to force recycling plants to introduce fire suppression systems, a leading industry expert has told NCE in the aftermath of a major fire in London last week.
Gem bridge: Back to the future

9 August 2012
A new Brunel influenced bridge across a secluded valley in Dartmoor National Park is about to help strengthen transport links with France.
Boston Manor viaduct will be replaced, says minister

19 July 2012
Ministers are seeking a long term replacement for the troubled Boston Manor viaduct following last week’s dramatic closure of a vital section of the M4 because of a worsening cracking problem, NCE can reveal.
Mixed market

19 July 2012
Launch of Volvo Construction Equipment’s new pipelayer signals its eagerness to exploit healthy markets amid continuing turbulence in Europe. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Cracks trigger closure of second Olympic route bridge: full report

10-Jul-2012
Engineers were this week scrambling to finish urgent repairs to Boston Manor viaduct in west London in a desperate effort to reopen a vital section of the M4 in time for Olympics traffic.
Flood waters cause concern in South West

7-Jul-2012
Environment Agency emergency teams were at Yealmpton on Saturday to help deal with flooding as a severe flood warning came into force for the River Yealm between Cornwood and Yealmpton.
Worsening cracking problem closes M4 between London and Heathrow

7-Jul-2012
The identification of a new crack on the damaged Boston Manor viaduct has forced the closure of the M4 between London and Heathrow airport – a key section along the Olympic Route Network – for up to five days, the Highways Agency announced today.
Infrastructure needs visionaries not economists, says Armitt

28 June 2012
Making the economic case for major infrastructure is fruitless and can be no substitute for “visionary” political backing, the boss of the London 2012 Games delivery said last week.
HS2 bill must provide for Crossrail 2, says TfL boss

28 June 2012
Provision for Crossrail 2 must be made in the Hybrid Bill for the first phase of the High Speed 2 line to ensure Euston station is not forced to close under the pressure of overcrowding, Transport for London managing director of planning Michèle Dix said last week.
London needs new sources of transport cash

28 June 2012
Investment in improvements to London’s transport network is half what it should be, Transport for London managing director of planning Michèle Dix told the conference.
Heathrow third runway 'best option' for long-term growth, says Parsons Brinckerhoff study

26-Jun-2012
A third runway at Heathrow is most likely the best option for long-term hub capacity growth, according to a study into south east airport capacity published this week.
Global water shortages emerge as engineers’ greatest concern

31 May 2012
More than a third of engineers fear that global water shortages and economic meltdowns pose the greatest threat to civilisation in the coming 40 years, according to the findings of a survey by NCE.
Olympic Park sculpture tower nears completion

17 May 2012
Site workers were this week beginning to put the finishing touches to the Olympic Park’s £22.7M ArcelorMittal Orbit as the sculpture was prepared for handover to the Olympic legacy organisation.
Orbit observation: Preview from the top of the Olympic Park sculpture

16-May-2012
Last week saw the official unveiling of the ArcelorMittal Orbit sculpture and visitor attraction on the Olympic Park in London. A gathering of invited guests and press were able to take in the views from the top. Here, NCE takes a look at how the UK’s tallest sculpture came to life.
Mersey Gateway promoter confirms commitment to cable stayed bridge

03 May 2012
The promoter of the Mersey Gateway crossing this week restated its commitment to building an “iconic” cable-stayed structure.
Steve Fox: On the margin

03 May 2012
Bam Nuttall has bagged significant high profile, large value work in the past year. But chief executive Steve Fox tells Alexandra Wynne that the industry must do more to stave off the tough times that loom.
No.9 Thames Barrier

2-May-2012
As one of the world’s largest movable flood barriers in the world, the Thames Barrier already qualifies for a high class status, but its elegant stainless steel clad exterior has ensured it also become one of London’s most iconic structures.
Atkins drawn into dispute over Cambridgeshire guided busway

1-May-2012
Contractor Bam Nuttall this week refuted a £55M claim made against it by Cambridgeshire County Council for delays to its guided busway scheme and issued its own £43M counterclaim.
Panama Canal programme defended

26 April 2012
The massive $5.25bn (£3.3bn) Panama Canal Expansion scheme will open on time despite a six month construction delay, a senior programme manager claimed last week.
High Speed 2 case further undermined

19 April 2012
Backers of the controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) scheme were dealt a blow this week with news that its economic benefits had been revised down for the second time since January.
Christchurch gets cardboard cathedral

19 April 2012
Officials this week approved plans for a transitional “cardboard” structure to replace the earthquake-ruined 131 year old Anglican Cathedral in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
Confirmed: Arup, Atkins, Motts and Capita win High Speed 2 civils contracts

5-Apr-2012
Scheme promoter High Speed 2 Ltd has just confirmed that consultants Arup, Atkins, Mott MacDonald and Capita Symonds have won the remaining four civil and structural design contracts worth £49M in total.
Consultants File: Halcrow staff cuts hit over 1,000

5 April 2012
Embattled consultant Halcrow cut staff numbers by over 1,000 and saw its fee earnings fall 16% in the last year, according to exclusive figures revealed by NCE’s Consultants File published this week.
Cracks found in key Olympic Road Network bridge

5 April 2012
Urgent inspections were taking place this week to work out how to repair cracks on a crucial M4 motorway structure in London in time for the Olympic Games.
Arup, Mott MacDonald, Atkins and Capita tipped for High Speed 2 civils contracts

3-Apr-2012
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.
Blow for new nuclear as RWE and Eon confirm withdrawal from Horizon

29-Mar-2012
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.
Fehmarnbelt bidders could be compensated

29 March 2012
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

29 March 2012
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.
Innovation will be key to securing place on Fehmarnbelt scheme

29-Mar-2012
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.
More key High Speed 2 design contracts imminent

16-Mar-2012
Scheme promoter High Speed 2 Ltd is on the verge of awarding key design contracts to enable its progress towards a hybrid bill, NCE understands.
King’s Cross crowned

15 March 2012
Not to be outdone by the recent stunning revival of its neighbour St Pancras, this week King’s Cross station begins to unveil the restored jewels of its past and some intricate and grand new additions. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Power cuts loom as inertia delays nuclear decisions

15 March 2012
Leading UK scientists this week slammed government inertia regarding the development of new nuclear power stations.
Balfour Beatty seeks more takeovers

15 March 2012
Balfour Beatty’s growth strategy will continue to focus on acquisition opportunities, chief operating officer Andrew McNaughton said last week.
Balfour Beatty underlying pre-tax profits jump 9%

8-Mar-2012
Contractor Balfour Beatty witnessed a 9% increase in underlying pre-tax profit in the year to 31 December 2011 and reports a stable order book bolstered by the announcement today of a HK$6.2bn (£507M) contract win by one of its major consortiums in Hong Kong.
Costain reports steady order book as pre-tax profit takes a small hit

7-Mar-2012
Contractor costain today revealed that its pre-tax profts for 2011 dipped slightly to £25.5M compared with £27.9M for the previous year while its order book remained steady at £2.5bn, compared with £2.4bn previously.
Welsh government proposes new tunnel for Brynglas bottleneck

7-Mar-2012
The Welsh Government yesterday launched a consultation on new plans to tackle the notorious bottleneck at Brynglas with a major online widening scheme that would include a new tunnel on the M4, near Newport in south Wales.
Network Rail pleads guilty over Grayrigg disaster

1-Mar-2012
Rail infrastructure operator and owner Network Rail yesterday pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches over the 2007 Grayrigg train crash that killed one person and injured 86 people.
Global infrastructure investment faces crisis

1-Mar-2012
Global infrastructure is facing a crisis, suffering from severe underinvestment, a lack of high level strategic vision and a paucity of robust finance models, senior industry figures warned last week.
UK is 'open for business' to foreign investors, says infrastructure boss

24-Feb-2012
Treasury body Infrastructure UK (IUK) chief executive yesterday proclaimed the UK to be open for business and said he wanted to attract infrastructure investment from abroad, as well as from UK sources such as pension funds.
Crossrail will only be fully operational in late 2019, say bosses

22-Feb-2012
Crossrail bosses yesterday confirmed that full services on the new railway would only beginning running in late 2019.
Bond Street Crossrail contract award pushed back to 2013

14-Feb-2012
The £200M construction contract for Crossrail’s Bond Street station has been postponed until the beginning of next year, a new report reveals.
Clients can generate the most construction cost savings, says Morrell

10-Feb-2012
Clients must improve how they procure from the supply chain if they are to contribute what will likely be the biggest savings to be made in construction costs, the government’s chief construction adviser Paul Morrell said this week.
Business reignites call for third Heathrow runway

1-Feb-2012
Business leaders have slammed the government’s decision to rule out the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport as “negligent”.
MPs criticise government over lack of clarity on flood defence funding

31-Jan-2012
MPs today criticised the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for doing little to dispel uncertainty over who holds ultimate responsibility for protecting homes from flooding.
Doubts arise about ambitious Thames Hub delivery schedule

26-Jan-2012
Transport experts this week refuted suggestions that a new Thames Estuary airport could be delivered in a decade or less.
Ministers push ahead with High Speed 2 to Birmingham

26-Jan-2012
Britain’s £32bn High Speed 2 (HS2) line remains viable even though the economic case for the project has worsened, transport experts and politicians said this week.
Energy infrastructure at 'significant' risk of flooding

26-Jan-2012
Energy infrastructure is under significant threat from flooding, partly induced by climate change, and a National Adaptation Programme (NAP) is vital to overcoming its vulnerability, the government said yesterday.
Infrastructure 2012: Thinking along the right lines

20-Jan-2012
The rail industry in 2012 looks set to reward great partnering with myriad lucrative contracts on offer.
Controversial Estuary airport plan to go out to consultation

18-Jan-2012
Proposals for building a new London airport in the Thames Estuary will be put out to consultation in the spring, it has been confirmed.
Northern Line Extension cost grows to £900M as developer funding threatened

18-Jan-2012
The proposed Northern Line Extension in south London to serve Nine Elms and Battersea is likely to cost between £800M to £900M, it was revealed yesterday.
Highways Agency spending cuts will affect maintenance standards, says DfT

17-Jan-2012
Senior Department for Transport (DfT) civil servants yesterday told MPs that standards would be affected by road maintenance spending cuts but asserted that the network would not degrade under the plans.
Government failed to ensure Network Rail savings, say MPs

17-Jan-2012
MPs yesterday heaped criticism on the Department for Transport for failing to induce substantial savings from Network Rail for this spending period.
Hammersmith flyover repairs to last 'decades'

17-Jan-2012
Repairs to the severe damage suffered by the Hammersmith flyover will ensure a longer term fix for the problems than previously thought, Transport for London’s (TfL’s) surface transport boss said today.
Infrastructure 2012: Keeping the economy growing

13-Jan-2012
While the country languishes in the economic doldrums the question on the mind of civil engineers is this: will 2012 be the year that an infrastructure led recovery begins to take hold?
Rail regulator prosecutes Network Rail for 'serious' health and safety breach over Grayrigg

13-Jan-2012
The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has today started criminal proceedings against rail infrastructure owner and operator Network Rail for a breach of health and safety law which caused a train to derail near Grayrigg, Cumbria in 2007.
Infrastructure 2012: Making the complexities simple

12-Jan-2012
One of the great question marks hovering over 2012 is to what degree - good or bad - proposed changes will affect the complex issue of planning in the UK.
High Speed 2: The NCE guide

12-Jan-2012
The decision by transport secretary Justine Greening to go ahead with the High Speed 2 scheme with some modifications to the route is the latest step forward for the mega-rail scheme.
Deephams: Thames Water's defining moment

12 January 2012
Early contractor involvement is seen by Thames Water as the key to its plan to upgrade sewage treatment standards at its Deephams works in north London.
High Speed 2: Economic benefits revised down for second time in a year

11-Jan-2012
The government yesterday revealed that it had revised down the economic benefits of a High Speed railway between London, the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds for the second time in a year, but it confirmed its commitment to going ahead with the now £32.7M scheme.
Government gives green light to High Speed 2

10-Jan-2012
Transport secretary Justine Greening has today given her backing to an amended High Speed 2 scheme that includes additional tunnelling through the Chilterns and other sensitive locations at an extra cost of £700M.
Thames Water seeks ECI model for major treatment works upgrade

3-Jan-2012
Water company Thames Water is seeking early contractor involvement (ECI) for a major new scheme to upgrade its Deephams sewage works in Enfield, north London.
Serious structural defect forces closure of A4 Hammersmith Flyover

23-Dec-2011
A “serious structural defect” on the Hammersmith Flyover on the strategically vital London A4 route has forced its immediate closure, Transport for London (TfL) revealed today.
Infrastructure 2012: Bring on the tunnelling machines

15 December 2011
Crossrail programme director Andy Mitchell is in festive spirit - the project is on the cusp of its most exciting12 months yet.
Chilterns concerns delay High Speed 2 decision

08 December 2011
The crucial ministerial decision over whether to proceed with the £32bn High Speed 2 scheme has been delayed until 2012 while options for upping environmental protection of the Chilterns are considered.
Osborne puts roads back on the agenda

08 December 2011
Road building was this week back on the government’s agenda after £1.25bn worth of schemes were given the green light in chancellor Gorge Osborne’s Autumn Statement.
Plan to pool pension cash for infrastructure

08 December 2011
A new financial vehicle enabling UK pensions to pool their funds to invest in infrastructure is “very near to being set up”, Treasury officials insisted last week.
New boost for TfL's Tube cooling plan

01 December 2011
Transport for London (TfL) this week called for firms to help develop a concept design to air condition the Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Central deep Tube lines.
Autumn Statement 2011: £5bn boost for infrastructure now plus £5bn more in next parliament; UK needs 'lasting investment'

29-Nov-2011
Chancellor George Osborne today confirmed that the government had identified £5bn extra for infrastructure funding for this parliament – including £1bn for Network Rail - and a further £5bn beyond that.
Major contracts awarded for the big Crossrail jobs

24 November 2011
Teams comprising Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial and Kier and Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and Vinci are set to be the winners of two of Crossrail’s major station works contracts worth around £625M, NCE understands.
Network Rail: Changing track

24 November 2011
While the government’s rail spending remained steady following last year’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Network Rail was already in the midst of a programme of efficiencies. Now the strategy for change being led by Ian Ballentine looks likely to change the face of the organisation for good.
Localism Act removes 'democratic deficit' in planning, says Pitt

22-Nov-2011
The new Localism Act has removed the “democratic deficit” in the planning process, Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) chairman Sir Michael Pitt said today.
Crossrail awards major station contracts worth around £625M

18-Nov-2011
Teams comprising Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial and Kier and Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and Vinci are set to be the winners of two of Crossrail’s major station works contracts worth around £625M, NCE understands.
Network Rail reveals structural changes in major efficiency drive

15-Nov-2011
Network Rail today began to reveal the full extent of its plan to change the way it delivers capital projects, in a move to make efficiencies in its investment programme and become a more engaged and defined client.
MPs throw weight behind full £32bn plan for High Speed 2

10 November 2011
MPs this week dismissed concerns over the reliability of High Speed 2 (HS2) passenger forecasting but warned the scheme must be delivered in full if it is to deliver full economic benefits.
'Highly probable' fracking caused quakes, says report

2-Nov-2011
It is “highly probable” that the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing to create shale gas off the coast of Blackpool triggered two earthquakes earlier this year, a report revealed today.
Rail punctuality down 1.3% on last year, Network Rail reports

28-Oct-2011
Punctuality on trains dropped to 91.5% between 18 September and 15 October (period 7) compared with 92.8% for the same period in 2010, Network Rail revealed today.
Recovery is three years away, say infrastructure chiefs

27 October 2011
Industry leaders fear that UK civil engineering workloads will stagnate next year and that the negative effects could be felt for up to three years.
New transport secretary confirms opposition to major airport expansion

20-Oct-2011
New transport secretary Justine Greening yesterday confirmed that she had no intention of overturning government policy blocking new runways at London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports.
New Mouchel Rail owner Sinclair Knight Merz seeks expansion in UK

20-Oct-2011
The new owner of Mouchel’s rail business, Australian firm Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM), has said the acquisition bolsters its plan to expand in the UK transport market.
Olympian legacy: John Armitt

20 October 2011
As the Olympic Delivery Authority makes its final preparations for next year’s Games, chairman John Armitt talks to NCE about its engineering legacy.
Armitt calls for greater unity over planning infrastructure

20 October 2011
Government and major clients must rise above political point scoring and plan for long-term infrastructure development, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) chairman John Armitt said this week.
Consultant Mouchel sells rail business to pay down debts

19-Oct-2011
Consultant Mouchel today revealed that it is to sell its rail business to consultant Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) for £3.4M cash.
Infrastructure Show: Chief engineer says High Speed 2 is for the masses

18-Oct-2011
High Speed 2 will be a transit system for the masses and not simply for a few rich people, the project’s chief engineer said today.
Troubled Mouchel hires new chief executive — but loses its chairman

13-Oct-2011
Troubled consultant Mouchel has installed a new chief executive, a week after predecessor Richard Cuthbert quit amid an £8.6M accounting black hole that saw Mouchel’s shares plummet 45% to just 17p.
Crisis for Mouchel as shares dive and Cuthbert quits

11-Oct-2011
Consultant Mouchel was this week looking to sell off significant parts of its business in a bid to cut its £87M debt and avoid going into administration.
Mouchel shares plummet as boss quits following massive accounting error

6-Oct-2011
Mouchel’s share price plummeted today following the firm’s announcement that chief executive Richard Cuthbert has quit after an “actuarial error” that mistakenly suggested the firm was to make £4.3M more on a one-off contract than it will.
Deputy prime minister pledges to break down Whitehall barriers to infrastructure

14-Sep-2011
Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg today pledged to remove Whitehall barriers to infrastructure projects and give 40 of the biggest, most important schemes “special priority status”.
HS2 passenger forecasts are 'conservative', MPs told

14-Sep-2011
Passenger forecasts for High Speed 2 are conservative and the mega-rail project continues to promise substantial economic benefits, MPs were told yesterday.
NCE’s hot topics: World Trade Center ten years on - have the lessons been learnt?

8-Sep-2011
NCE’s hot topics email this week is absorbed by the one story that is hitting the headlines — 10 years on from the unthinkable World Trade Center collapse what has changed.
UK roads and aviation infrastructure of concern to businesses, says survey

8-Sep-2011
Government policy is too light on developing roads and aviation infrastructure and blocks major schemes, according to the findings of a survey released today.
Change the economics to preserve tall buildings, say experts

8-Sep-2011
A change of perceived economics of tall buildings could preserve their future, industry experts said today.
WTC ten years on: Experts admit slow progress in applying the lessons of 9/11

8-Sep-2011
Much more must to be done to protect super-tall buildings and their inhabitants from another 9/11 style catastrophe, leading structural engineers told NCE in the week that marks 10 years since the shocking terrorist attacks.
WTC ten years on: Learning from the unthinkable

7-Sep-2011
The 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York have forced engineers to rethink tall building design.
More MPs add voices to PFI criticism

1-Sep-2011
Government has failed to ensure value for money from PFI arrangements and has treated the financing mechanism as the “only game in town”, MPs said today.
Lord Provost to question funding for shorter Edinburgh tram

30-Aug-2011
Lord Provost George Grubb has called for a special meeting of the City of Edinburgh Council to review its decision last week to truncate the tram project, in place of the council’s earlier plan to go ahead with a slightly longer route.
Worldwide stage collapses trigger calls for safety review

25 August 2011
Structures experts said this week that the UK was likely to seek to review its procedures and codes for temporary structures following a month of catastrophic stage collapses worldwide triggered by extreme weather.
Freak storms cause second fatal stage collapse in a week

19-Aug-2011
A sudden catastrophic thunder storm last night caused staging to collapse and AV equipment to fall at the Pukkelpop music festival in Belgium, killing five people.
Hochtief suffers massive £300M interim pre-tax loss

18-Aug-2011
Contractor Hochtief has suffered a massive pre-tax loss of €350.3M (£305.5M) in the first six months of 2011 against a pre-tax profit of £345.5M for the same period last year, according to figures released yesterday.
Officials investigate fatal US stage collapse

15-Aug-2011
US officials yesterday began investigating the circumstances that led to the collapse of a temporary stage at the Indiana State Fair on Saturday, killing five people and injuring others.
Network Rail slashes its framework list

11 August 2011
Network Rail has revealed plans to cut its multi-asset framework of 14 firms down to six partnerships in a bid to save up to 20% in costs, and months lost in procurement.
King's Cross station roof revealed

10-Aug-2011
Network Rail, consultant Arup, contractor Vinci and architect John McAslan + Partners yesterday unveiled the new Western Concourse roof at King’s Cross Station, London.
Costain/Skanska picks up Crossrail Paddington station contract

11-Jul-2011
Crossrail has awarded its first central London station contract to a Costain/Skanska joint venture.
Crossrail on the 'cusp' of awarding station contracts

6-Jul-2011
Crossrail is “on the cusp” of awarding the first three station contracts, its head of procurement Martin Rowark told NCE’s London Rail conference last week.
Soletanche Bachy to buy geotechnical firm Roger Bullivant

24-Jun-2011
Piling specialist Roger Bullivant is to be bought by Soletanche Bachy — the parent company of geotechnical firm Bachy Soletanche — for an undisclosed sum.
Resurfacing problem leads to M25 chaos

23 June 2011
Contractors on the £6.2bn M25 widening PFI and the Highways Agency were this week reviewing road surfacing procedures after defects forced the closure of two lanes last week.
Faith in new nuclear delivery plummets after Fukushima

09 June 2011
Engineers’ confidence that the UK will have a new nuclear plant online by 2018 has plunged as a result of the Fukushima disaster and its subsequent fallout, NCE can exclusively reveal.
Report warns of cost threat to roads

02 June 2011
England’s local roads are under attack from increasing traffic, severe winters, higher repair costs and dwindling highways funding, the local government public spending watchdog said last week.
Over £1bn in savings can be made in rail by 2019, says McNulty report

19-May-2011
Transport secretary Philip Hammond last week said that the McNulty rail industry review has identified £1.05bn of savings that could be made by 2019.
Engineers fight Mississippi floods

19 May 2011
Engineers were this week watching to see whether US Army Corps attempts to stem the floods from the Mississippi River would give enough protection to densely populated areas.
Herrenknecht machines to drive most Crossrail bores

19 May 2011
Tunnel boring machine (TBM) manufacturing giant Herrenknecht this week fought off competition to win contracts for all six earth pressure balance (EPB) machines required to bore Crossrail’s 21km long running tunnels.
MPs blame transport operators for lack of snow readiness

12 May 2011
Infrastructure owners must do more to ensure transport networks keep working in severe weather, MPs said this week.
Consultants cash in on £160M Crossrail bonanza

21 April 2011
Crossrail has paid eight consultants over £160M for key civil engineering design contracts in the past two years, NCE can exclusively reveal.
Ramboll buys Gifford

07 April 2011
Danish consultant Ramboll has acquired consultant Gifford for an undisclosed sum, it has emerged this week.
Hochtief/Murphy scoops Crossrail Thames tunnel

29-Mar-2011
German contracting giant Hochtief in joint venture with J Murphy & Sons has scooped Crossrail’s Thames Tunnel contract, NCE can reveal.
Budget 2011: Green Investment Bank to get £2bn boost but borrowing must wait until 2015; Planning reform will help create jobs

23-Mar-2011
The Green Investment Bank will receive an additional £2bn funding but borrowing will not begin until 2015, chancellor George Osborne announced in today’s Budget.
European nuclear plans on the rocks in wake of Japan disaster

15-Mar-2011
British and European nuclear plans have been thrown into disarray in the aftermath of the worsening nuclear power disaster following last week’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
EdF set to award Hinkley earthworks contract to URS Scott Wilson/Bam Nuttall/Kier JV

11-Mar-2011
Energy giant EdF is set to award a significant earthworks contract for new nuclear site Hinkley Point to the URS Scott Wilson/Bam Nuttall/Kier JV, NCE understands.
Arcelormittal Orbit: Mittal's twisted tale

10 March 2011
A twisted muddle of steel or an elegant industrial urban sculpture - whatever the judgement on the aesthetic appeal of the new ArcelorMittal Orbit, it is a feat of precision structural engineering.
Olympic Park ‘still on track’ to meet renewables targets

10 March 2011
Legacy bosses for London’s Olympic Park this week insisted that targets for renewable energy and venue use remained on track.
Concerns emerge over High Speed Two start date

23-Feb-2011
Rail experts this week warned that the construction programme for the High Speed Two line is already in jeopardy, even before public consultation has begun.
Atkins tells staff to work longer week

10 February 2011
Britain’s biggest consultant Atkins wants some of its staff to work longer hours for the same money, it emerged this week.
'Flawed' M25 PFI to cost taxpayer an extra £1bn

9-Feb-2011
MPs this week accused the Highways Agency of taking a “flawed and biased” approach to tackling congestion on the M25 through the use of a privately financed widening concession.
Decision looms for Crossrail Woolwich station box

4-Feb-2011
Final agreement on the funding of Crossrail’s Woolwich station box was about to be signed off as NCE went to press.
New Crossrail boss should be engineering figure, says Holden

03 February 2011
The new Crossrail boss should come from an engineering background rather than project management, outgoing chief executive Rob Holden has said of his future successor.
Mitchell engineers’ choice to be Crossrail chief executive

27 January 2011
Crossrail programme director Andy Mitchell has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Rob Holden as boss of Europe’s largest construction project.
Tube Lines purchase resulted in 700 job cuts, says Hendy

20-Jan-2011
Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Peter Hendy yesterday said that 700 jobs had been shed as a result of its purchase of Tube upgrade contractor Tube Lines last summer.
Crossrail chief executive Rob Holden quits

12-Jan-2011
Crossrail chief executive Rob Holden has unexpectedly announced his decision to leave the firm after less than two years in charge.
Systemic failures caused BP oil spill, inquiry finds

6-Jan-2011
An overarching failure of management combined with engineering mistakes at BP, Halliburton and Transocean led to the Gulf oil spill disaster, according to a scathing inquiry into the disaster.
Infrastructure UK highlights £3bn savings potential

21-Dec-2010
The government could save £3bn a year on building and maintaining infrastructure by working more closely with the construction industry, according to Infrastructure UK’s (IUK’s) final report into the cost of civil engineering.
Government drops Heathrow Hub option for spur on High Speed 2 route

21-Dec-2010
Transport secretary Philip Hammond today unveiled plans for a new high speed railway from London to the West Midlands, Manchester and Leeds.
Crossrail boss sets out tunnelling decision

16 December 2010
European firms were the big winners in £1.25bn worth of tunnelling contracts awarded by Crossrail this week.
Merged contracts to save Crossrail money

16 December 2010
Crossrail this week said it had decided to significantly resequence tunnelling work in the project’s western section to save money but delay completion.
European firms big winners for Crossrail tunnel contracts worth £1.25bn

10-Dec-2010
European firms are well represented among the winners of £1.25bn worth of tunnelling contracts awarded by Crossrail today.
Eurotunnel unveils secret fire suppression system

25 November 2010
Eurotunnel this week revealed that it was close to completing the covert installation and testing of a fire suppression system in the Channel Tunnel.
Boris pushes for new London airport

25 November 2010
London mayor Boris Johnson has asked one of the city’s transport chiefs to lobby the government over the inclusion of a new hub airport for the Capital in its aviation review.
Mouchel hit by public sector downturn

04 November 2010
Consultant Mouchel has confirmed it has cut more than 2,000 jobs since January last year as a result of government spending freezes.
Mind the gaps in planning system

04 November 2010
Major projects are under threat from chinks in the planning and authorisation system, senior industry experts warned this week.
Leaked email highlights Cambridgeshire busway row

04 November 2010
Further evidence of the breakdown in relations between Cambridgeshire County Council and its guided busway contractor Bam Nuttall emerged this week.
Government promises to unblock project planning

28 October 2010
Senior civil servants this week pledged to remove planning obstacles to new major infrastructure projects by the end of the year as it published its first broad commitment to a long term infrastructure investment plan.
Spending review 2010: Roads are losers as Osborne favours rail

28 October 2010
The government made clear its preference for rail investment over road improvements in last week’s spending review.
Spending review 2010: Devolved funds cut

28 October 2010
The devolved governments in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland were this week preparing to find cuts to their spending plans after chancellor George Osborne announced that he was cutting budgets by 25%.
Clients want better in-house engineering

14 October 2010
UK road and rail clients are seeking to cut costs by improving their in-house engineering resources, NCE has learnt.
Catalan cunning

29-Sep-2010
Some very small steel fibres have had a massive impact on the construction of Barcelona metro’s new Line 9.
Evacuation remains essential to New Orleans flood plans

2 September 2010
Engineers this week warned that New Orleans’ residents will still have to flee the city in the event of another Hurricane Katrina-style event, despite a massive $15bn (£9.7bn) investment in flood defences.
Post-Katrina project speeds to conclusion

2 September 2010
Almost five years to the day since Hurricane Katrina ripped across Louisiana, engineers are bracing themselves for the final phase of works to reduce the risk of storm damage to the city of New Orleans.
Urgent probe into cause of runaway Tube train

13-Aug-2010
London Underground (LU) was this week carrying out an urgent investigation after a runaway and defective engineering train caused chaos on the Tube network last week.
Construction underway at Lizard lifeboat station

10-Aug-2010
Construction of a state-of-the-art Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station has begun at The Lizard in Cornwall.
Interserve profits down but construction business holds strong

10-Aug-2010
Interserve today reported that profits had fallen from to £27.3M in the six months to 30 June compared with £40M in the same period last year. However, its construction business total operating profit increased from £18.1M to £23.5M in the UK and Middle East.
Councils freed to sell renewables electricity to the Grid

9-Aug-2010
Councils across Britain will from next week be allowed to sell renewable electricity to the grid, energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne will say today in a letter to all local authorities.
Dounreay clean-up moves offshore

6-Aug-2010
Dounreay’s site closure programme is moving offshore and up a gear to recover more radioactive waste from the seabed off the coast near the reactor at Thurso, north Scotland.
Aecom buys Davis Langdon for £204M in bid to increase programme management offering

5-Aug-2010
Global consultant Aecom has bought project management and cost consultant Davis Langdon for $324M (£204M).
IPC receives first formal development consent applications

5-Aug-2010
The Infrastructure Planning Commission has just announced that it has received its first formal applications for development consent.
TfL awards £300M Bond Street contract to Costain/Laing O'Rourke JV

4-Aug-2010
Transport for London (TfL) has today awarded a Costain/Laing O’Rourke joint venture the £300M redevelopment contract for Bond Street station.
Network Rail seeks external candidates for Coucher replacement

2-Aug-2010
Network Rail is looking outside its business to fill the role of chief executive, NCE has learned.
HS2: west London out

27-Jul-2010
Transport secretary Philip Hammond last week rejected calls to build a west London terminus and Crossrail interchange for the High Speed 2 (HS2) rail line to the North.
Atkins highways and transportation staff face redundancies

26-Jul-2010
Consultant Atkins this week admitted it is having to make redundancies within its highways and transportation business because of impending public sector spending cuts.
Contractor Vinci pulls out of Forth Crossing consortium

23-Jul-2010
French contracting giant Vinci Construction Grands Projets has pulled out of the Forthspan joint venture (JV) that is bidding for the Forth Replacement Crossing.
Heathrow Hub fails to make a compelling case, government told.

23-Jul-2010
Proposals for a Heathrow hub station on a new high speed rail line fail to make a compelling case, according to a senior government adviser.
Credit crunch has jacked up PFI costs says watchdog

22 July 2010
Value for money on bank funded PFI projects took a hit during the recession as a credit shortage led to a 6% to 7% increase in financing costs said the government’s spending watchdog.
Ministers fail to answer Crossrail spur questions

8 July 2010
Opposition MPs this week urged ministers to answer critical questions about the future of London’s £15.9bn Crossrail scheme.
Minister confirms government departments could face 40% cuts

5-Jul-2010
Transport secretary Philip Hammond confirmed this weekend that government departments had been ordered to plan for severe spending cuts reaching up to 40%.
Margins safe from civils costs investigation

01 July 2010
Consultants and contractors’ profit margins look set to escape scrutiny in Infrastructure UK’s (IUK) investigation into the high costs of UK civil engineering projects, NCE has learned.
Ex-Soviet Union president urges global climate change action

01 July 2010
Leading experts on low carbon economies this week urged governments across the globe to adopt a joined up approach to tackling climate change.
Outgoing rail boss gets £1.25M pay out

01 July 2010
Network Rail outgoing chief executive Iain Coucher will walk away with £1.25M in pay and bonuses for 2009/10, the rail infrastructure operator has revealed.
Rail clients in frantic talks to stave off spending cuts

30-Jun-2010
Transport ministers have told Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) that they will find out how much will be cut from their budgets within weeks.
CH2M Hill trumps URS offer for Scott Wilson with £189M bid

28-Jun-2010
US-based consultancy giant CH2M Hill has raised the stakes in the Scott Wilson buyout drama with an offer of £189M for the firm.
Outgoing rail chief Coucher to receive £1.25M in pay and bonuses

24-Jun-2010
Network Rail outgoing chief executive Iain Coucher will walk away with £1.25M in pay and bonuses for 2009/10, the rail infrastructure owner and operator said today.
Osborne: No more infrastructure spending cuts this year

22-Jun-2010
Chancellor George Osborne this week said there would be no more capital spending reductions in the current financial year, saving major infrastructure projects from the public spending axe.
Johnson sticks to his guns over Thames Estuary airport project

17 June 2010
London mayor Boris Johnson has refused to back down over his plans to develop an island airport in the Thames Estuary.
London battles transport cuts

17 June 2010
London mayor Boris Johnson was this week locked in a battle with the new Conservative-led coalition government over cuts to his transport budget.
Crossrail needs more engineering support, says project boss

16-Jun-2010
Supporters of London’s Crossrail scheme have called for more to be done to demonstrate the economic value creation of major infrastructure projects.
No taxpayer rescue for Crossrail station

10 June 2010
Backers of Crossrail’s Woolwich station were this week told there would be no government bailout to supplement any shortfall in private sector funding.
Costly rail capacity improvements will fall short, says National Audit Office

4-Jun-2010
Costly rail capacity improvements could fail to deliver on earlier promises, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO).
Network Rail reports sharp fall in profits

3-Jun-2010
Network Rail today revealed that pre-tax profits over the past year have fallen from £1.52bn to £395M – a drop of almost 75%.
Fight to defend Crossrail

3 June 2010
Backers of mega-project Crossrail were this week steeling themselves for a fight against potential cuts to its £15.9bn budget.
Tube Lines sale will see fewer station closures

3 June 2010
London Underground (LU) this week claimed that weekend closures for the upgrade of the Northern Line will be slashed following its purchase of upgrade contractor Tube Lines.
Whalsay to Shetland tunnel faces the axe

28-May-2010
Plans for an £83M tunnel linking the island of Whalsay to the mainland of Shetland will be scrapped unless costs can be significantly reduced or a subsidy can be found by Shetland Island Council.
Crossrail faces push to cut costs or defer some work

27 May 2010
London’s £15.9bn Crossrail scheme faces a renewed threat of cuts or delays after new transport secretary Philip Hammond challenged mayor Boris Johnson to prove that it is value for money.
Beleagured Glendoe hydro project needs 1.6km tunnel

27 May 2010
Repairing Scotland’s £160M Glendoe hydro scheme will involve building 1.6km of drill and blast tunnel, it has emerged.
Why the Tube PPP collapsed

20 May 2010
Tube Lines’ decision to sell up to Transport for London marks the end of the road for the Tube PPP. Alexandra Wynne unpicks the dying days of what was once heralded as a pioneering private finance project.
Funding fears as Tube PPP hits the buffers

13 May 2010
London transport schemes will face a tough battle for cash in the wake of Tube Lines’ sale to Transport for London (TfL), industry experts warned this week.
Tube Lines to be freed from a "Byzantine" PPP, says Boris

13 May 2010
Tube Lines is set to become a subsidiary of Transport for London, once the sale completes on 30 June.
Tube Lines' shareholders agree £310M buyout deal with TfL

7-May-2010
Shareholders of Tube upgrade contractor Tube Lines have agreed a buyout deal with Transport for London (TfL) for the PPP arrangement with a price tag of £310M, it was confirmed yesterday.
Industry nervous as parties try to form coalition government

7-May-2010
Engineers this week urged the main political parties to retain focus on infrastructure investment while deciding who would form the next government.
Long makes it to Westminster as civils candidates experience mixed fortunes

7-May-2010
Engineering and construction professionals were this morning celebrating and commiserating after a mixed bag of results in the General Election.
Engineers shun Tories over indecision about Crossrail

29 April 2010
Civil engineers turned their backs on the Conservatives this week amid fears that the party would scrap Crossrail and cut the most out of public sector projects if it won next week’s General Election.
High Speed 2: Terminal velocity

22 April 2010
The new government is yet to be decided, but one thing looks assured as far as infrastructure is concerned - come the new parliament, it should be full steam ahead for high speed rail. Alexandra Wynne unravels the challenges posed by the proposals on the table in NCE’s first High Speed Quarterly update.
Tories reignite uncertainty over the future of Crossrail

19-Apr-2010
Conservative support for London’s £15.9bn Crossrail scheme was thrown into doubt this week after London minister Justine Greening admitted that the party could not guarantee its future.
Election 2010: Planes, trains and a toll for automobiles

15 April 2010
The main political parties this week squared up over infrastructure pledges as campaigning began ahead of the 6 May General Election.
Energy Bill receives Royal Assent

9-Apr-2010
The Energy Bill yesterday received Royal Assent meaning it has made the transition into becoming the Energy Act 2010.
Civil engineering cost probe follows Budget

1 April 2010
The Treasury last week commissioned an investigation into the cost of civil engineering works for major infrastructure projects.
Clinton to oversee Haiti committee

31-Mar-2010
A committee overseeing £2.5bn in post-quake aid to Haiti will be co-chaired by former US president Bill Clinton, it has been confirmed.
MPs renew call for PPP Arbiter to have more powers

29-Mar-2010
MPs last week renewed their call for the government to create stronger powers for the PPP Arbiter Chris Bolt to ensure that Tube upgrade works are efficiently delivered.
Massive disruption looms as rail union announces post-Easter strikes

25-Mar-2010
Rail union RMT has today announced that strikes among Network Rail signallers and maintenance staff will now go ahead between Tuesday 6 April and Friday 9 April.
Adonis criticised for preferring rail to road

25 March 2010
Transport groups this week hit out at what they called a government “bias” towards investment in rail over roads.
NCE Major Projects Hub goes live

18 March 2010
NCE has launched its new Major Projects Hub - an invaluable online resource tracking the progress of more than 100 of the biggest global infrastructure projects.
Euston to be Labour high speed rail hub

18 March 2010
Britain’s £30bn high speed rail line from London to Scotland will be centred on Euston station and not Heathrow airport, transport secretary Lord Adonis revealed this week.
Birmingham wins high speed focus

18 March 2010
Birmingham is set to become one of the biggest benefactors of government proposals for a new high speed rail network, as it will be brought to within 31 minutes of London.
Peace deal in busway dispute

18 March 2010
Cambridgeshire County Council’s decision to go public over its dispute with guided busway contractor Bam Nuttall this week yielded immediate results with senior executives stepping in to resolve the issues.
Conservatives attack Labour’s ‘limited’ high speed rail vision

18 March 2010
The Conservatives have attacked Labour’s plan for Britain’s £30bn high speed rail network, claiming the route is fl awed and that it will take too long to start work.
Government reveals £30bn high speed rail plans

11-Mar-2010
Transport secretary Lord Adonis has just announced plans for a new £30bn high speed rail scheme for the UK, which will create an “initial core” network linking London to Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds..
Adonis to announce high speed rail plans today

11-Mar-2010
Transport secretary Lord Adonis will this morning release details of the government’s plans for a new north-south high speed railway in the form of a White Paper.
Council goes public over Cambridge busway defects

11 March 2010
Frustration over contractual issues that have left the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway project more than a year late in opening this week boiled over into a public dispute between the client and main contractor Bam Nuttall.
Oakervee reaffirms Thames Estuary plans

11 March 2010
Thames Estuary airport champion and former ICE president Douglas Oakervee this week publicly reaffirmed his commitment to the scheme.
PPP Arbiter final costs for Tube Lines allows small increase to £4.46bn

10-Mar-2010
PPP Arbiter Chris Bolt today set his final costs ruling for Tube Lines’ upgrade and maintenance contract for the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Lines - allowing an increase of £65M on his draft ruling to bring the figure to £4.46bn.
High speed rail: The fast track debate

4 March 2010
With a General Election looming, high speed rail looks set to take centre stage as the transport issue that will highlight differences between the main political parties. Report by Alexandra Wynne.
DfT slammed for poor Metronet management

4 March 2010
MPs this week criticised the Department for Transport (DfT) for its “inadequate management and oversight” of Tube upgrade contractor Metronet which collapsed in 2007, costing the taxpayer up to £410M.
Conservatives set out their plans for high speed rail

25 February 2010
The Tories this week hit back at suggestions that they were playing party politics with high speed rail by opting out of cross party discussions on building a line from London to the Midlands and the North.
Final immersed tunnel section placed for new Tyne Crossing

24-Feb-2010
The fourth and final part of the vital river section of the New Tyne Crossing was lowered into place beneath the River Tyne yesterday, completing the under-river link of the new vehicle tunnel.
Crossrail Canary Wharf station cofferdam draining begins

11-Feb-2010
Work on Crossrail hit another milestone today as site workers began draining a cofferdam that will partly form the new Canary Wharf station.
Boris and Adonis at war over Tube Lines

11 February 2010
London mayor Boris Johnson this week escalated the row between London Underground (LU) and Tube Lines by calling on the government to break the PPP agreement between the two.
New bridge for flood town

11 February 2010
Contractor Morgan Est this week started work on a £4.6M temporary road bridge across the River Derwent at Workington after winning the contract on Monday.
Morgan Est starts work on £4.6M Cumbrian temporary road bridge

8-Feb-2010
Work to rebuild a connection for flood-wrecked Workington in Cumbria will begin almost immediately following today’s award of the construction contract for a new bridge to Morgan Est.
Crossrail lets first six enabling contracts

5-Feb-2010
Crossrail yesterday announced the award of the first six contracts under its enabling works framework while advance works near the Royal Oak tunnel portal gathers pace.
Network Rail appoints David Higgins as non-executive director

4-Feb-2010
Network Rail has today announced the appointment of Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins as a non-executive director.
TfL anger as Tube Lines plans “massive disruption”

04 February 2010
A fresh row broke out this week between London Underground (LU) and its contractor Tube Lines, this time over weekend possessions for the Northern Line Upgrade.
Environment Agency reveals new flood warning system for critical infrastructure

29-Jan-2010
The Environment Agency today unveiled its new flood warning service for infrastructure owners and operators.
David Waboso: Make work not war

28 January 2010
London Underground director of line upgrades David Waboso is keen to set the record straight after a turbulent couple of weeks that saw contractor Tube Lines accuse it of cost hikes on the Victoria Line.
Adjudicator throws out Tube Lines’ claim

28 January 2010
Tube Lines was this week planning its next move after an independent PPP adjudicator ruled against it over its claim for £327M costs from London Underground (LU).
Tunnel repairs to begin on disaster struck hydro scheme

21 January 2010
Contractor Bam Nuttall was this week poised to carry out critical repair work on the 100MW Glendoe hydro electric station in Scotland following a dramatic collapse in one of its vital tunnels last year.
Tube Lines and LU in battle over upgrade costs

21 January 2010
Tube Lines and London Underground (LU) were this week locked in a bitter dispute over the cost of upgrade work on the Victoria, Jubilee and Northern Underground lines.
Work starts to reconnect road link for flood hit Cumbrian town

21 January 2010
Efforts to reconnect the floodstruck Cumbrian town of Workington made headway this week as site investigations got underway for a new temporary road bridge.
MP calls for Crossrail to be dropped in favour of Leeds high speed link

20-Jan-2010
Labour MP for Leeds West John Battle has today called for Crossrail to be put off until the government gives its backing to a high speed rail link to Leeds.
Adonis announces longer rail franchises

20-Jan-2010
Transport secretary Lord Adonis has today announced that future rail franchises will be let for a minimum of 10 years with even longer contracts of up to 22 years possible in return for additional investment.
Vinci celebrates innovation at awards event

15-Jan-2010
Vinci last week held an awards event to celebrate innovations developed across its roads and energy, construction and concessions business lines.
Crossrail braced for fresh fight over extra station

14 January 2010
Crunch talks to decide the future of a proposed new Crossrail station for Kensington are due to begin next week, NCE has learned.
Commons committee hammers Highways Agency over costs

14 January 2010
MPs last week admonished the Highways Agency for not doing enough to control wide variations in maintenance costs from its contractors.
Refurbishing Edinburgh's Royal Museum

7 January 2010
Edinburgh’s Royal Museum has a long history of change. Its east wing opened in 1866 followed by the west wing in 1890. These were joined by a bolt on extension at the back in 1920 and the Darwin building in the late 1960s.
Conservatives slam HS2 plans

7 January 2010
The Tories have slammed government plans to create a central London high speed rail hub for failing to include a suitable connection to Heathrow airport.
MVB scoops £600M Lee job

7 January 2010
The London Tideway Tunnels project is finally set to get underway after Thames Water awarded its first major construction contract to the MVB consortium last month.
Falling ice strikes again on Severn Crossing

23-Dec-2009
The M4 Second Severn Crossing was closed to traffic yesterday on the advice of the police when falling ice from overhead gantries hit the main structure of the bridge, months after the same problem closed both Severn crossings.
Morgan Est/Vinci/Bachy partnership wins £400M Lee Tunnel contract

21-Dec-2009
The London Tideway Tunnels scheme received a kick start today with the announcement that the first major construction contract had been awarded to the MVB joint venture comprising Morgan Est, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Bachy Soletanche.
Cumbria bridge open for use

10 December 2009
Construction of a temporary bridge in flood-ravaged Workington in Cumbria was completed on time last weekend.
Surprise bidders make Crossrail tunnels shortlist

10 December 2009
Two relatively untried partnerships were surprise inclusions on the shortlist for the lucrative tunnelled sections on London’s £15.9bn Crossrail scheme, announced last week.
Twelve firms share £300M Highways Agency package

4-Dec-2009
The Highways Agency has awarded 12 firms work on its £300M framework for highways construction framework for the North West and West Midlands for the period 2009-2013.
Workington bridge push reconnects flooded town

3 December 2009
A team of Royal Engineers was this week racing to build a vital footbridge that will re-establish a connection through Workington in Cumbria which was ripped apart in last month’s severe flood.
New rail shuttle service reconnects Workington

3 December 2009
A new rail shuttle service was launched in Workington on Monday reconnecting the north and south of the Cumbrian town after floods stranded residents.
Cumbrian bridges ripped out by torrential floods

26 November 2009
Structural engineers from across the UK were being rushed to Cumbria this week as the local highways authority battled to inspect 1,800 bridges following extreme floods.
Temporary railway station for Workington

26 November 2009
Network Rail was this week scrambling to build a new temporary railway station for cut-off residents of flood-torn Workington in Cumbria.
Slow progress for Chunnel fire system

26 November 2009
Eurotunnel this week insisted that the installation of a fire suppression system in the Channel Tunnel was on schedule even though no contract had been awarded six months after bids were invited.
HS2 boss backs line north of Birmingham

19 November 2009
A new high speed rail network should serve cities along both the east and west of the UK, a senior government advisor revealed this week.
Terry Farrell: Getting to grips with high speed

19 November 2009
Politicians and engineers must seize the chance to unlock the wider potential of major infrastructure schemes, especially high speed rail, says architect and masterplanner Sir Terry Farrell. He talks to Alexandra Wynne.
Thames Water reviews Tideway Tunnels scope

12 November 2009
Thames Water is thought to be considering ditching a significant section of the £2bn London Tideway Tunnels scheme to save costs, sources close to the project told NCE this week.
Farrell backs Euston as venue for London high speed rail hub

12 November 2009
London’s Euston station has been identified as the ideal location for a rail hub to link High Speed 1 (HS1) with any new High Speed 2 (HS2) line to the north of England and Scotland.
Engineer shortage blamed for Highway Agency cost hikes

05 November 2009
A senior Highways Agency official this week admitted to MPs that a lack of qualified engineers was a chief reason it had failed to keep a lid on road maintenance costs.
High Speed 2: In the fast lane

05 November 2009
As High Speed 2 prepares to report to government on the findings of its investigations into a new high speed rail network, everyone wants to know how much it is going to cost and where it is going to go. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Viewpoint: Crossrail procurement gathers pace

05 November 2009
The two main tunnelling contracts are about to go out to tender, as the huge project gathers momentum, says NCE transport correspondent Alexandra Wynne
Johnson lobbies to keep Crossrail going after election

29 October 2009
Crossrail must be given firm government support “immediately” after a General Election to safeguard its future, London mayor Boris Johnson told NCE this week.
Overreaction to Cologne collapse

29 October 2009
Engineers overreacted to the Cologne metro collapse by installing too much extra ground monitoring equipment, an expert close to the investigation said last week.
Network Rail coy about rising cost of Thameslink

29 October 2009
Network Rail this week dodged questions over cost hikes at Blackfriars Bridge, part of the £5.5bn Thameslink upgrade.
Boris Island airport in Thames moves ahead

22 October 2009
Ambitious plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary moved forward this week after a feasibility study found there to be “no overwhelming constraints”.
Boris backtracks on road pricing plans

22 October 2009
London mayor Boris Johnson this week appeared to contradict his own transport strategy by vowing to reject plans for road pricing schemes.
BAA sells Gatwick to London City airport owner for £1.51bn

21-Oct-2009
BAA has agreed to sell Gatwick airport to London City airport owner Global Infrastructure Partners for £1.51bn.
Crossrail tunnel tender setback

1 October 2009
Invitations to tender for Crossrail’s third and final tunnelling contract have been delayed because of ongoing negotiations with project sponsor and developer Berkeley Homes.
Kensington lobbies for extra Crossrail station

24 September 2009
Crossrail is braced for a new row over stations this week with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea launching a late bid for a stop at Kensal.
OFT imposes £130M fines for bid rigging

24 September 2009
Contractors have hit out at the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) decision to impose £130M of fines on 103 construction firms it found guilty of bid rigging.
Ailie MacAdam & Bill Tucker: Thinking it through

24 September 2009
The major construction phase may not yet be in full swing, but success hinges on detailed planning now.
Cliff Mumm & Chris Dulake: Team talk

24 September 2009
A few months on from Crossrail appointing its project delivery partner Crossrail Central, a team comprising Bechtel, Halcrow and Systra, the organisations have merged to signal that this project is go.
Gibraltar: Rescuing the rock

24 September 2009
A vital road in Gibraltar has remained closed since an accident over seven years ago. Despite unforgiving conditions a scheme is underway that will see the road soon reopen. Alexandra Wynne reports
Mike King: Tunnels portals and shafts

24 September 2009
As Crossrail shifts focus to become a delivery organisation, the technical challenges of what lies ahead are becoming clearer.
OFT fines 103 construction firms £130M

22-Sep-2009
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) this morning fined 103 construction firms in England a total of £129.5M after finding them guilty of colluding with competitors on building contracts.
Galliford Try expands into Middle East

18-Sep-2009
Galliford Try has registered a new business in Qatar. Galliford Try Qatar will focus on infrastructure projectsin the public and regulated sectors in joint venture venture with MFH, a wholly owned Qatari company also based in Doha.
Jim De Waele: Ready to recover

17 September 2009
It has been a difficult year for many in the civil engineering world and the geotechnical industry was among the first to feel the full weight of the economic downturn. Keller UK’s managing director Jim De Waele tells Alexandra Wynne why now is the right time for a change of direction.
Distances key to HS2 city choice

17 September 2009
Major cities have this week been told that they could be excluded from any north-south high speed rail line because they are too close together.
Private funds crucial to project

17 September 2009
Future high speed rail funding is likely to be reliant on substantial private investment, politicians said last week.
Heavyweights team up for Crossrail civils work

10 September 2009
British and Continental contracting giants were this week scrambling to form partnerhsips which would win them lucrative Crossrail contracts.
Emissions questions dog high speed rail

10 September 2009
Network Rail’s £34bn plan for a high speed line between London and Scotland has been attacked for not doing enough to provide an alternative to domestic flights.
Construction industry contracts further in August - but at slower rate

2-Sep-2009
August survey data from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply has indicated a further contraction in business activity within the UK construction sector. However, the rate of decline eased marginally since July to its slowest pace in eighteen months.
Network Rail emergency plan and safety systems criticised for GE19 bridge accident

20-Aug-2009
Improvements to safety procedures and better emergency planning are among the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) recommendations targeted at Network Rail, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), London Underground and others for failings that led to the GE19 bridge slip in London.
Welsh public transport: Time travel trial

20 August 2009
The Welsh may be rejecting buses and trains in favour of the comfort of their cars - but should they think again? Alexandra Wynne samples cross-country public transport through the Valleys to test the theory.
Thames Water celebrates tunnel breakthrough on Ring Main extension

6-Aug-2009
Thames Water yesterday celebrated the culmination of a year of crunching through the earth beneath London with the tunnel breakthrough on the southern extension of the city’s so-called M25 for water.
Welsh give thumbs down to buses and trains

6 August 2009
Public transport in Wales needs more investment to lure people out of their cars, according to ICE Wales director Keith Jones.
Cameron: Tories will consider new road tolls

27-Jul-2009
David Cameron yesterday said that motorists could be subjected to charges for using the UK’s roads in an effort to control public spending if a Conservative government came to power.
Government to spend £1.1bn on rail electrification

23-Jul-2009
A £1.1bn project to electrify two major rail lines in a bid to cut journey times, reduce pollution and boost the economy has been unveiled by the government today.
São Paulo collapse contractor rejects blame

23 July 2009
The consortium working at São Paulo’s Pinheiros station that suffered a fatal tunnel collapse in January 2007, has hit back at claims it was responsible for systemic failures of design and risk management (NCE 25 June).
Ministers give green light to four eco-town projects

23 July 2009
Ministers last week gave four sites the green light to build controversial eco-towns, in a move which drew a mixed response from industry and politicians.
Piled solution tackles track instability at Medge Hall

21-Jul-2009
Network Rail is investing £10M at Medge Hall, near Doncaster to improve the ground to support the railway and remove a speed restriction following problems with drainage in soft peat that has led to track instability.
Considerate Constructors rolls out company registration

20-Jul-2009
The Considerate Constructors Scheme last week launched its new company registration initiative, which will allow construction companies and not just their sites, to sign up to the organisation’s national scheme.
Road pricing: is pay per km next?

9 July 2009
Pressure on transport funding caused by the public spending crisis has thrust nationwide road pricing back onto the political agenda, industry experts said this week.
Court date set for Wembley showdown

9 July 2009
Wembley stadium designer Mott MacDonald will meet stadium contractor Multiplex in court at the end of this month to fight out who was to blame for cost over runs and delays on the project.
Transport minister marks official start of M25 widening

8-Jul-2009
Transport minister Sadiq Khan today welcomed the start of construction on the M25 widening scheme - the £6.2bn design, build, finance and operate contract by the Connect Plus consortium.
Transport spending cuts could threaten major projects, according to press reports

2-Jul-2009
The Department for Transport (DfT) is facing a £30bn spending gap, which could threaten major projects, according to a leaked memo seen by The Guardian, the paper said today.
Concerns over costs and delays spark Thameslink cutback fears

2 July 2009
Network Rail’s £5.5bn Thameslink upgrade faces the prospect of cuts to beat time and cost overruns, sources close to the project said this week.
Brown to identify UK infrastructure needs

2 July 2009
Prime minister Gordon Brown this week said that he was setting up a new advisory body to identify the country’s infrastructure needs for the next five to 50 years.
Construction picks up in the Middle East, except for Dubai

2 July 2009
Construction output in the Middle East could recover in 2010, although the focus of the workload has shifted away from Dubai, according to a new survey published last week.
Fiscal stimulus kicks off A1-M1 fast link

1-Jul-2009
Transport minister Chris Mole officially started work to widen the busy A46 in Nottinghamshire after the project was accelerated as part of the Department for Transport’s £700M fiscal stimulus package.
Government steps in as National Express loses control of East Coast franchise

1-Jul-2009
The government has today taken the East Coast rail line, run by National Express into public ownership.
Government to create new infrastructure body to examine 50 year needs

29-Jun-2009
Prime minister Gordon Brown today announced the formation of a new advisory body in the next year that will identify the country’s infrastructure needs for the next five to 50 years.
Middle East construction could stage economic recovery in 2010, says survey

29-Jun-2009
The Middle East construction market could stage a recovery in 2010, but the industry focus has shifted away from Dubai, according to a new survey published last week.
Train control system fails in test following Washington DC train crash

26-Jun-2009
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that train control systems failed during investigative tests being carried out to determine the cause of the Washington DC train crash on Monday that left nine dead.
Morgan Est's Jackson is new IHT president

25-Jun-2009
Morgan Est business development manager Chris Jackson will take over this month as the new president of the Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT), it was announced today.
Catalogue of failures led to São Paulo collapse

25 June 2009
“Systemic failure” of design, construction and risk management was responsible for the São Paulo tunnel collapse that killed seven people in January 2007, a lead member of the investigation team said last week.
Flood defences need £1bn a year spend

25 June 2009
Flood defence spending must double to £1bn a year by 2035 to ensure that protection for the one in six homes now at risk of flooding in England is maintained, the Environment Agency said last week.
Construction deaths down 26%

24-Jun-2009
The number of deaths on construction sites fell 26% in the last year, despite it remaining one of the “most dangerous” industries to work in, according to the lastest figures from the Health and Safety Executive released today.
Government guarantees Olympic village construction funding

22-Jun-2009
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has sold 1,379 affordable homes from the Olympic Athletes Village to Triathlon Homes with funding backed by a government guarantee, it was announced today.
Defra produces flood and coastal risk management guidance

19-Jun-2009
Defra today published its Policy Statement on Appraisal of Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management, containing guidance for operating authorities and others involved in managing flood and coastal erosion risk.
Adonis: No public inquiry for Grayrigg or Potters Bar rail disasters

19-Jun-2009
Transport secretary Lord Adonis today rejected calls for a public inquiry into the rail accidents at Grayrigg and Potters Bar, that both resulted in deaths of passengers.
Environment Agency: England needs £1bn a year for flood protection

19-Jun-2009
Flood protection funds need to double to £1bn a year by 2035 to protect the one in six homes at risk of flooding in England, according to two new reports from the Environment Agency published today.
RAC urges ministers to end bias towards rail spending

19-Jun-2009
Ignoring value for money evidence and promoting rail over road schemes puts the government at risk of failing to meet Treasury targets, said the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation.
BAA denies T5 subsidence reports

18 June 2009
Heathrow airport operator BAA last week denied that cracks in floor tiles at Terminal 5 were caused by subsidence.
Atkins' profits up 19% but economic woes in the UK and Middle East to blame for redundancies

17-Jun-2009
Consultant Atkins has reported an increase of 19% in operating profit in its preliminary results and said staff numbers were up 6% year on year despite having to make 1,200 staff redundant in recent months.
Balfour Beatty wins £15M contract for M4 Newport ATM

16-Jun-2009
Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering (BBRCE) has won the M4 Newport Controlled Motorway contract.
Taxpayer exposed by Metronet

11 June 2009
Department for Transport (DfT) officials failed to identify major risks to taxpayers when awarding PPP contracts to Metronet, an official report on the Tube upgrade contractor’s collapse revealed last week.
Albania highway: Ain't no mountain too high

10-Jun-2009
When complete, Albania’s new motorway will offer a drive to rival the most scenic around the world. But those same mountains that provide such a beautiful backdrop have not made life easy.
Albania highway: Making the first move

10-Jun-2009
At first glance, building a 61km long motorway in a European country might not sound like much. But Albania’s first ever motorway scheme has many twists and turns. Over the next eight pages Alexandra Wynne reports from a scheme where the word “mountainous” is appropriate in more ways than one.
Albania celebrates motorway tunnel breakthrough

4-Jun-2009
Albanians last week celebrated the breakthrough of a tunnel which will form part of the country’s first motorway.
Dam risk surveys likely to be extended

4 June 2009
The Environment Agency this week said it is likely to extend its reservoir risk assessment programme after awarding a contract covering 2,092 registered structures.
Atkins unveils temporary structures

3-Jun-2009
Consultant Atkins last week revealed it was about to embark on its two-year detailed design phase ofthe temporary structures and associated infrastructure for the London 2012 Olympics.
Lack of infrastructure blamed for fall in beach water quality

22-May-2009
Lack of storm pollution infrastructure has been blamed for a steep decline in beach water quality results that were announced last week.
London's Victorian mains get £7.5M upgrade

22-May-2009
Thames Water yesterday announced that a £7.5M scheme to replace 13.7km of worn-out Victorian water mains in the City of London is underway.
Crossrail: piling forward

21-May-2009
Last week, political big shots gathered at Canary Wharf to witness the official start of construction works on Europe’s biggest construction project. Alexandra Wynne was there to find out how one of Britain’s biggest station boxes will be built.
Crossrail gets high profile start

21 May 2009
Labour prime minister Gordon Brown and Conservative London mayor Boris Johnson last week united to signal the start of work on Londonís £15.9bn Crossrail scheme and play down concerns over its long-term future.
Geogrid firm Tensar breaches advertising standards

20-May-2009
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today upheld a challenge made by Naue Geosynthetics against competitor Tensar International that questioned claims published in its brochure about TriAx geogrids.
Early contractor involvement vital for adoption of SUDS solutions

20-May-2009
Early supplier and contractor involvement must be adopted to improve sustainable urban drainage (SUDS)schemes, industry think tank Constructing Excellence has urged.
Prime minister and London mayor launch Crossrail construction

15-May-2009
Prime minister Gordon Brown and London mayor Boris Johnson this morning launched the first pile for Canary Wharf station in London, signalling the start of major construction work for mega project Crossrail.
London Array gets green light

12-May-2009
The massive London Array offshore windfarm last week secured €2.2bn (£1.97bn) of funding from project developers E.On, Dong and Masdar.
Civil engineering project starts on the rise

12-May-2009
New construction project starts fell 30% in April compared with a year ago but civil engineering project starts have picked up since the beginning of the year, according to the latest research by construction market intelligence firm Glenigan.
Blaze hits construction of Zaha Hadid Chinese opera house

12-May-2009
Billowing smoke signalled a fire that broke out this week at the site of Zaha Hadid’s opera house in Guangzhou, southern China, which is due to open later this year.
Brilliant barrier

9-May-2009
On its 25th birthday, the Thames Barrier has a lot to celebrate. It is still looking good and operationally it is not showing its age. Alexandra Wynne heads to east London for an early birthday celebration.
Caution over new reservoir inspection plan

30 April 2009
Engineers said this week that they feared that new government plans to tighten the reservoir inspection regime are unworkable.
Collapse leads to manslaughter charge for geotechnics firm

30 April 2009
Ground engineering specialist Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings last week became the first company to be charged with corporate manslaughter under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
Wimbledon Centre Court roof revealed

22-Apr-2009
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has unveiled its new retractable roof on the world famous Centre Court that will put an end to the familiar sight of spectators sitting beneath umbrellas waiting for a break in the clouds during the Wimbledon tournament.
Budget 2009: Economy will grow by end of 2009, despite worst economic turmoil for 60 years

22-Apr-2009
Chancellor Alistair Darling has bravely predicted that the UK will see economic growth before the year is out, despite saying in today’s Budget speech that this is the “worst economic global turmoil felt for 60 years”.
Five firm shortlist for Tottenham Court Road Tube station upgrade

22-Apr-2009
Transport for London has announced that five firms are in the running to carry out main construction work for London Underground at Tottenham Court Road Tube station.
IOC criticised for 'luxurious' London Olympic visits

22-Apr-2009
The Liberal Democrats have slammed the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for running up huge expenses bills during delegate visits to the UK and called for a reassessment of the cost of bidding and hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.
Tory party sets out £30bn private investment plan for green growth and economic recovery

16-Apr-2009
The Conservative Party today recommended measures that the government could introduce in the 2009 to unleash £30bn of private sector investment that it claims would stimulate competitive and low carbon economic recovery.
New code of conduct for utility works set to tackle road congestion in London

16-Apr-2009
Utility companies will have to sign up to a code of conduct to cut the delays and congestion caused by roadworks in London, under new plans from Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced today.
Tar very much

9 April 2009
A corner of central Manchester is now being cleansed of its industrial past to create a Europeanstyle shopping boulevard.
Screen super stars

2 April 2009
You have chosen computer aided designand computer aided manufactureas the greatest advances in construction. NCE talks to industry experts about the beauty of information technology.
Arabian Canal excavations on hold

26 March 2009
The future of Dubai’s 75km-long Arabian Canal mega-project was under threat this week after the client suspended the next stage of the procurement process for excavation work.
Making a difference

26 March 2009
International development is set to be the focus of the ICE’s re-vamped apprenticeship scheme.
Cross purpose

19-Mar-2009
Supermarket giant Tesco is having another go at building a new store over the railway at Gerrards Cross after the newly built tunnel it was to sit on partially collapsed first time around.
BAA must sell three airports, says Competition Commission

19-Mar-2009
BAA will have to sell Gatwick and Stansted as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports, the Competition Commission’s said today in its final report on the operator’s ownership of seven UK airports.
Work halts on M74 extension

19 March 2009
Piling on the £445M M74 extension in Glasgow was halted last week after cracks and falling plasterboard were discovered in one of the tunnels in the city’s subway system.
Fire blazes at City office block

18-Mar-2009
At least 60 firefighters are tackling a large fire that broke out on a London City office block this afternoon.
Campaign to Protect Rural England: government focus is on high carbon road building

18-Mar-2009
Traffic levels have increased by 40% over the last 15 years in much of England, becoming the fastest growing source of domestic carbon emissions, according to a new study published today by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
Clyde's Tradeston Bridge nears completion

17-Mar-2009
Glasgow’s Trandeston pedestrian bridge over the river Clyde will soon be complete as the finishing touches are carried out over the next few weeks.
CIOB calls for greater focus on government's chief construction officer proposal

16-Mar-2009
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) today criticised the government’s proposed chief construction officer (CCO) role for being too broad.
Tesco tunnel replaced

12 March 2009
Gerrards Cross tunnel segments are being lifted in by crawler crane at site of collapse.
Wrekin Construction forced into administration

11-Mar-2009
Wrekin Construction was this week forced into administration putting at risk up to 1,100 jobs.
Is Boris Island in the Thames Estuary a fantasy island?

12-Feb-2009
London mayor Boris Johnson is hoping a plan to build a new island airport in the Thames Estuary will head off a third runway at Heathrow. But as Alexandra Wynne reports, the London project may not be Europe’s first offshore airport, if the Dutch have their way.
Civils bucks the downturn

12-Feb-2009
Civil engineering last month bucked the economic downturn and recorded its first month of year on year growth since March 2008, according to figures published this week.
Bachy buys up Simplex Foundations

9-Feb-2009
Bachy Soletanche today announced that it has bought piling contractor Simplex Foundations for an undisclosed sum. The purchased firm is listed in the Ground Engineering Geotechnical Services File 2008 as having a turnover of £19M.
Channel Tunnel fire triggers safety changes

5-Feb-2009
Eurotunnel this week said it had started to change its safety procedures ahead of the findings of a French judiciary report into last September’s fire.
Channel Tunnel stability fear revealed

5-Feb-2009
Eurotunnel engineers this week admitted that they feared for the stability of one of the Channel Tunnel’s running tunnels after last September’s fire seriously damaged a section of its lining.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson's spending plans under threat

5-Feb-2009
London mayor Borish Johnson's spending plans for London’s infrastructure and capital spending to support the 2012 Olympic Games are facing significant risks, the London Assembly warned today.
Channel Tunnel repair bill puts sprinklers back on the agenda

5-Feb-2009
Heavy costs of repairing fire damage to the Channel Tunnel’s concrete lining have forced Eurotunnel to reconsider the idea of installing sprinklers, the tunnel operator said last week.
Channel Tunnel track installation underway for 9 February re-opening

29-Jan-2009
Contractor Eurovia Travaux Ferroviaires is laying replacement rails in the fire damaged section of the Channel Tunnel over the next two days in readiness for a proposed full re-opening on the night of 9 February, Eurotunnel announced yesterday.
US engineers rush infrastructure report to influence Obama stimulus plan

28-Jan-2009
US engineers today rushed out the key findings of a major report on the state of America’s infrastructure two months early in an attempt to influence President Obama’s $825bn (£585bn) economic stimulus package.
New entrance bridge for Stratford International station

23-Jan-2009
A 36m bridge made of glass panels was lifted into place above domestic service railway lines to form the new entrance and exit for Stratford International station, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced yesterday.
Hard shoulder running extended

22-Jan-2009
Transport secretary Geoff Hoon last week confirmed plans to extend the use of hard shoulder running across the motorway network. The plan forms part of £6bn in motorway and trunk road improvements.
Pay frozen as more jobs go

22-Jan-2009
Two of the UK’s largest consultants have suspended pay reviews for up to six months as firms step up efforts to tackle the economic downturn. Atkins – rated top consultant by fees rendered in the NCE Consultants File 2008 – announced its decision last week in response to the economic decline in Dubai.
CIOB to move into Abu Dhabi

22-Jan-2009
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is to expand into the UAE Capital Abu Dhabi, it announced this week.
Tideway Tunnel first contract bidders confirmed

21-Jan-2009
Thames Water today confirmed the four bidders in the running to be shortlisted for the first of two major infrastructure construction contracts for its London Tideway Tunnels project.
Stockholm Metro concession awarded to MTR Corporation

21-Jan-2009
Stockholm Public Transport has awarded MTR Corporation concession rights to operate Sweden’s Stockholm Metro in a HK$20bn (£1.9bn) deal, it was announced today.
Fairytale of New York - Second Avenue Subway takes shape

20-Jan-2009
Londoners may think Crossrail has been a long time in the planning, but New Yorkers are finally seeing the Second Avenue Subway project come to fruition after an epic 80 year wait. Alexandra Wynne reports from the Big Apple on a scheme that will take a big bite out of its core.
Atlas Copco merges US sales businesses

20-Jan-2009
Atlas Copco - the construction and mining plant giant - has merged two of its sales operations to form a new business serving the US market, it announced today.
London 2012 reaches its halfway point

16-Jan-2009
The Olympics' workforce is expected to more than treble from 3,315 to a peak of 11,000 on the Olympic Park and Olympic Village in 2010 and a total of 30,000 workers over the different phases of the project to 2012.
Dounreay receives approval for £110M for new radioactive waste facilities

16-Jan-2009
Highland Council has approved a £110M investment in new facilities for managing low-level radioactive waste at Dounreay nuclear plant, it was announced this week.
WTC makes progress on construction milestones

15-Jan-2009
Construction at New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) site has met most of the interim milestones that were set last year keep the project on track, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) said yesterday.
England risks missing EU landfill targets

14-Jan-2009
England has been too slow in reducing waste sent to landfill and is at risk of being fined by the EU, according to a new report.
Steady Improvement

9-Jan-2009
A new biomass processing facility – claimed to be the first of its kind in the country – is being built to help Drax power station in north Yorkshire meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.
£6bn roads spending to focus on hard shoulder running

January 2009
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon yesterday outlined the government’s plan to increase focus on hard shoulder running (HSR) to improve the UK’s roads network as part of a package of national transport improvements.
Local authority funding insufficient to meet new SUDS duties

24-Dec-2008
Local authorities (LAs) will be unable to mitigate the risks of flooding using sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) unless they receive better funding and knowledge, warned surface water drainage specialist Hydro International yesterday.
Transport Scotland chief executive to retire in New Year

23-Dec-2008
Transport Scotland chief executive Malcolm Reed announced this week that he will retire in the New Year.
New nuclear will be too late to stop blackouts, says Liberal Democrat

23-Dec-2008
Government plans for new nuclear stations will not stop blackouts in the next decade, said Liberal Democrat shadow energy and climate change secretary Steve Webb yesterday.
M1 junctions 6a to 10 widening complete

22-Dec-2008
Speed restrictions on the M1 for a major widening project between junctions 6a and 10 were lifted last Friday as the main 17km long road works were completed.
Crossrail invites project representative tenders

19-Dec-2008
A shortlist of firms has been invited to tender to become Crossrail's project representative, transport minister Andrew Adonis announced today.
£15M flood protection money not enough, says LGA

17-Dec-2008
The government's pledge to give local authorities (LAs) £15M to deal with surface water flooding will not be enough to protect homes and businesses, the Local Government Association (LGA) said yesterday.
The first in line

15-Dec-2008
The Isle of Dogs station will be one of the first to be built on the Crossrail network. As with other work along the line, it will bring huge challenges.
Getting to the core

15-Dec-2008
The central tunnelled section of Crossrail will involve an intricate path from Paddington to the Docklands. It will have to avoid Tube stations, sewers, power lines and other obstacles and cause minimum disruption for London’s commuters.
Sustainability postgraduate courses win research cash

11-Dec-2008
Sustainability and low carbon technologies postgraduate courses were the big winners in a £250M research funding package confirmed this week.
Environment Agency plans to release £20M flood defence funding early

9-Dec-2008
The Environment Agency yesterday announced that flood defence projects in England could benefit from £20M of funding to be brought forward one year.
Construction apprenticeships to grow by 7,000 in the next three years

8-Dec-2008
More than 7,000 new apprenticeships will be created in the construction sector over the next three years, the government announced today.
Cuts in funding to blame for latest Venice floods

3-Dec-2008
A lack of funding is to blame for delays in building Venice flood barriers, which could have prevented this week's storm surge overwhelming the Italian city, British charity Venice in Peril claimed today.
Committee on Climate Change: Energy sector should be de-carbonised

2-Dec-2008
The Government must tackle greenhouse gas emissions in every sector to combat climate change, said official advisors in a report published on Monday.
Global effort needed to tackle climate change, says top advisor

19-Nov-2008
Countries must work together to share energy supplies to combat climate change, it was claimed yesterday.
Eco towns will fail and alternatives are needed, say experts

18-Nov-2008
Government plans to build eco-towns are destined for failure, with engineers needing to lead the search for a new approach to sustainability, it was claimed today. Watch NCE's exclusive interview with Sir Terry Farrell here.
Plans for one of UK's largest wind farms announced

6-Nov-2008
Plans for a new UK wind farm were announced yesterday by Renewable Energy Holdings.
Puublic transport fare cuts will only reduce car travel by 0.5%

24-Oct-2008
Public transport fare cuts worth £1bn would only reduce car travel by less than 0.5%, according to a report published by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation today.
Government must protect small contractors during credit squeeze

24-Oct-2008
Government action is needed to protect civil engineering contractors from redundancies and closure, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) said yesterday.
Network Rail failures blamed for Grayrigg crash

23-Oct-2008
Network Rail’s failure to correctly set up points and carry out a track inspection led to the Grayrigg rail crash on 23 February last year, according to a Rail Accident Investigation Branch report published today.
Wind industry says investment plans held up by limited access to grid

23-Oct-2008
Wind industry leaders gathering in London yesterday called for access to the national grid to be improved to allow £50bn of private infrastructure investment to be spent over the next 10 years.
Better leadership needed to cut construction fatalities, says ODA chief

23-Oct-2008
Olympic Delivery Authority chairman John Armitt yesterday blamed those who take shortcuts and the people who turn a blind eye to it for the industry’s failure to cut fatalities.
Tube Lines wins award for going green

22-Oct-2008
Tube Lines was last week rewarded for it success in recycling and sustainable waste management.
Friends of the Earth calls for more Government action on renewables

21-Oct-2008
Friends of the Earth yesterday criticised the Government for failing to do enough to harness renewable energy.
Conservatives opposition to new airport capacity 'baffling' says aerospace industry

21-Oct-2008
The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) has today hit out at Tory opposition to UK plans for new runway capacity as 'baffling'.
Scott Wilson seals lucrative Crossrail contract

21-Oct-2008
Scott Wilson today announced it had won a £9.8M contract to design above ground sections for London's mega-scheme Crossrail.
Government plans to fast-track construction projects

20-Oct-2008
Chancellor Alistair Darling announced that the government plans to increase borrowing to spend its way out of recession and fast track planned construction projects, according to an interview he gace to the Sunday Telegraph .
London Tideway Tunnels closes in on construction site selection

20-Oct-2008
The £2bn London Tideway Tunnels project took a step closer to construction last week as Thames Water began a consultation on selecting locations for the tunnels and tunnelling shafts.
A road runs through the river: The new Tyne crossing

16 October 2008
A trio of tunnelling techniques will come together to create the new Tyne Crossing near Newcastle. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Messina Bridge

15-Oct-2008
It has been at the centre of a tug of love between changing Italian governments. But it seems plans to build the Messina Bridge (and the world’s longest suspension bridge) between Italy and Sicily might just have been resurrected.
Arabian Canal

15-Oct-2008
In the midst of the grand construction plans for Dubai is the £5.6bn Arabian Canal – what will be the world’s longest man-made canal at 75km.
Hindhead Tunnel

15-Oct-2008
It might be in a rural setting in Surrey, but the £371M Hindhead Tunnel project is causing quite a stir for all the right reasons.
Redundancies loom as recession threatens

15-Oct-2008
Engineers working in the housing market or in commercial property are the most vulnerable to job cuts.
2nd Avenue Subway, New York

14-Oct-2008
The 2nd Avenue Subway is the first major expansion of the New York City subway system in over 50 years. And building a mega-project in the famously densely-populated city will be no small accomplishment.
Thames Rescue

6-Oct-2008
Billed as the largest water infrastructure project in the northern hemisphere, the London Tideway Tunnels aim to massively reduce sewage discharge into the rivers Thames and Lee. Alexandra Wynne talks to the man in charge of delivery.
Tories reject Heathrow third runway in favour of high speed trains

29-Sep-2008
Plans for a third runway at Heathrow would be scrapped and replaced with a new high speed rail under the Tories, shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers told the Conservative Party Conference today.
New look Birmingham New Street revealed

19-Sep-2008
Birmingham's New Street station is on route to get a glamorous overhaul as Network Rail yesterday revealed its new designs.
Channel Tunnel ground collapse fears unfounded

19-Sep-2008
Concerns about the geological strata surrounding the Channel Tunnel section affected by the fire are unfounded, senior geotechnical engineers told NCE this week.
Olympic Park pumping station design unveiled

19-Sep-2008
New 2012 Olympic Park designs for a key piece of utilities infrastructure were unveiled yesterday by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
Heathrow expansion consultation begins

16-Sep-2008
The Department for Transport (DfT) yesterday began a consultation on howairport development at Heathrow might affect those living near to the airport.
Demand for 'green collar' workers

16-Sep-2008
Rising demand for skilled green sector workers in Britain will place pressure on the UK skills market and leave businesses without the engineering and environmental expertise they require, according to research published this week.
2012 Aquatics Centre foundations underway

15-Sep-2008
The London 2012 Olympics Aquatics Centre is inching closer to main construction work with more than 100 concrete piles installed, the Olympic Delivery Authority said this week.
Third Heathrow runway gets backing from top businesses

15-Sep-2008
Heathrow Airport's plans for a third runway have received backing today from 100 leading UK companies.
Channel Tunnel reopens after blaze but disruption continues

15-Sep-2008
The Channel Tunnel reopened yesterday after last week's fire brought the service to a standstill. But disruption is set to continue with only a limited number of trains due to run.
Untapped hydro could power a quarter of Scottish homes, says report

3-Sep-2008
Scotland has enough untapped hydro potential to power a quarter of the nation's homes, according to a new study published yesterday.
EDF Energy awards £1.4M offshore wind farm ground investigation contract

20-Aug-2008
EDF Energy has contracted geotechnical firm Soil Mechanics to carry out £1.4M worth of ground investigations for a 90MW offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
New members appointed to Transport for London board

15-Aug-2008
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has made further appointments to the Transport for London board, it was announced yesterday.
Tyne Crossing

10-Aug-2008
The Tyne crossing project - one of the UK's largest construction projects - has got underway in the North East.
Hydrock acquires structural engineering firm Structures1

4-Aug-2008
Consultant and contractor Hydrock Group this week announced that it had acquired structural engineering firm Structures1.
Slowdown in housebuilding threat to geotechnics

30-Jul-2008
Piling contractors were last month facing bankruptcy and redundancies as the dramatic slowdown in the private housing market threatens to plunge the industry into crisis.
GSF 2008: The state of the industry

30-Jul-2008
Ground Engineering's annual Geotechnical Services File has revealed a market on the brink of a slowdown
London's transport system will not withstand population growth

29-Jul-2008
London's transport network is ill-prepared to cope with a predicted population increase and a growth in the number of workspaces being built, said speakers at a City Property Association seminar this week.
New Olympic Park aerial images released

28-Jul-2008
New aerial shots of the Olympic Park in London have been released to mark four years to go until the opening ceremony.
Government eco-town proposals open to legal challenge

23-Jul-2008
The Local Government Association (LGA), Liberal Democrats and Tories have today put their weight to lawyers warning the Government's approach to eco-towns contravenes planning legislation.
New wind farm consortium sets sights on becoming electricity firm

22-Jul-2008
A consortium of three organisations has been set up to bid for offshore wind farm development licences in the North Sea, it was announced yesterday.
Bringing down the curtain

19-Jun-2008
The complex clean-up of Dounreay nuclear plant on the north east coast of Scotland is progressing as contractors near completion of the grout curtain which will isolate a contaminated waste shaft. Alexandra Wynne reports.
With nail and I

June 2008
Early testing has led to a project team installing a medley of soil nails on an environmentally sensitive tunnelling project in the south of England. Alexandra Wynne reports from the heath lands near Hindhead.
Thermal piles cut energy demands

13-May-2008
Geothermal energy can be part of the solution to the problem of rising oil prices and the need to cut carbon emissions, attendees at an ICE meeting on energy piles heard recently.
Close encounter

26-Mar-2008
A doubling up of geosynthetics is being used to create heavy duty support and make room for an apartment development in Scotland.
Seaside special

26-Mar-2008
A few clever tricks have helped keep trains running on time beside a slippery slope flanking a section of the London to Brighton railway.
Cheshire squeeze

27-Feb-2008
The team on a development in the old market town of Nantwich in north west England is cramming in efficient ground engineering solutions in the hope of turning it into hot property. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Piled High

27-Feb-2008
A dual-use retaining wall will help transform a corner of south London into an enticing residential development. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Master Blaster

4-Feb-2008
It is a mix of good and bad news from the academic world this year for the UK's geo-related masters courses. Alexandra Wynne gives a round-up of views on the state of play.
A DRIVING AMBITION

15-Jan-2008
Contractors are battling to complete ground improvement work to allow Valencia to host next year's Grand Prix of Europe. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Delicate tunnelling in Leipzig

3-Jan-2008
The heritage of the east German city of Leipzig is being preserved by an operation that engineers hope will prevent damage from the building of a new railway tunnel.
On the grid in Valencia

3-Jan-2008
The race is on to complete ground improvement work to allow a Spanish city to play host to next year's Grand Prix of Europe.
Paris underground

30-Nov-2007
The tradition of using limestone for Paris’s buildings has left the city standing on a network of quarry voids. Alexandra Wynne treads carefully on a site where work is under way to stabilise the ground.
Waterford down

30-Nov-2007
Double-reinforced micropiles are boosting support for a major bridge project in the Republic of Ireland.
Worries grow over Mosul Dam

30-Nov-2007
Catastrophic failure of a major Iraqi dam and the resultant loss of life must be avoided through more reinstatement work, according to a US report published in October.
Flight of imagination

29-Nov-2007
A medley of ground investigation techniques is being put into practice on a vast old airfield in the east of England where plans are afoot to transform it into a new sustainable town
First-class Second city

29-Nov-2007
The UK's second city is getting a major new building that needs some heavy duty piling.
A quiet suburban street in Hertfordshire is at the hub of a major effort to prevent homes being swallowed up

31-Oct-2007
Abandoned and unstable chalk mines beneath Briars Lane in Hatfield have been gradually making their presence known for almost 30 years. But now a new project with a twofold approach is under way to stop future ground collapses.
Across the Great Divide

31-Oct-2007
Site workers are dealing with difficukt groundwater on a project exploring a possible new river crossing near the norfolk coastline.Alexandra Wynne heads to East Anglia to take a look.
Site workers are dealing with difficult groundwater on a project exploring a possible new river crossing near the Norfolk coastline

31-Oct-2007
The River Yare already has two crossings linking Great Yarmouth to the north and Gorlston to the south.
Plans to build a vast oil production plant in Kazakhstan have called for investigation of difficult soils in a far-flung location

31-Oct-2007
Kazakh customs officials had trouble believing that anything as innocuous as soil was in the canisters airlifted to the UK late last year.
One of Britain's oldest universities is getting a facelift with the help of some clever piling

31-Oct-2007
It may be a small site at only 40m2, but Memorial Court at Clare College – part of the University of Cambridge – is getting bigger facilities with a new study centre and accommodation wing in an £8.5M facelift.
Ask the panel: questions of liability

31-Oct-2007
Your insurance questions answered by the experts.
Piling for a new hospital in the north of England has eliminated the need for a separate ground works contract

31-Oct-2007
The steel and concrete building for the new Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, is getting support from a complicated large-diameter monopile foundation system.
For peat's sake

31-Oct-2007
Eaglesham Moor in Scotland might be an ideal location for a new wind farm, but it is a site full of geotechnical challenges.
Super-props brace Irish tunnel project

4-Oct-2007
Six giant super-props are being used to brace a casting basin where tunnel sections will be built for the new 570M Euro (£390M) Limerick Tunnel in the Republic of Ireland (GE March ’07).
Site workers were completing installation of 2456 CFA

4-Oct-2007
Site workers were completing installation of 2456 continuous flight auger (CFA) piles for a new bio-ethanol production plant in North East England as GE went to press.
Rescue attempt scaled down as hope dwindles for trapped miners

4-Oct-2007
Attempts to reach six miners trapped beneath ground after a cave-in in Utah were continuing as GE went to press. However, the effort has been scaled-down following the deaths of three members of the rescue team in mid-August.
Bullivant voices its concern over debts

4-Oct-2007
Piling firm Roger Bullivant has admitted it is concerned about rising debts at the group, which increased by nearly £3M last year.
A no-nonsense approach

28-Jun-2007
Spotlight - Reclaimed steel piles are being used to make pier-like platforms to help build the Limerick Tunnel in Ireland. Alexandra Wynne steps onto the jetty.
Dutch update

28-Jun-2007
Spotlight - Updating a road tunnel in Rotterdam means dealing with space, noise, vibration and transport restrictions. Alexandra Wynne visited the Netherlands to see the work.
A firm winner

1-Jun-2007
Geotechnics - A lime cement powder mix will help a new road stand rm in Sweden's soft soils. Alexandra Wynne reports.
Welsh residents voice fears over gas pipeline quake risk

3-May-2007
News
A ROCKY ROAD

1-May-2007
GROUND IMPROVEMENT
FINDING THE MISSING LINK

1-May-2007
GROUND IMPROVEMENT
A firm winner

19-Apr-2007
Geotechnics Slope stabilisation
Finding the missing link

19-Apr-2007
Geotechnics Carlisle to Guards Mill
CARDIFF COMPACTOR

4-Apr-2007
PILING & FOUNDATIONS
WIND IN THE MOORLANDS

4-Apr-2007
PILING & FOUNDATIONS
ON TIP TOE

1-Mar-2007
PILING - Soft toe piles were the answer to complex ground conditions at a major new hospital development in Scotland. Alexandra Wynne finds out how the piles work.
IN A TIGHT SPOT

1-Feb-2007
SOIL NAILING
MSC Napoli cargo threatens Dorset coast

1-Feb-2007
SALVAGE CREWS were last month recovering oil from the stranded ship MSC Napoli that beached last month off the south coast of England, east of Sidmouth, after getting into trouble.
SUPER SONIC

1-Feb-2007
GEOENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
THINKING AHEAD

1-Feb-2007
MASTERS COURSES

NCE FOR IN DEPTH NEWS AND FEATURES ON MAJOR PROJECTS

New Civil EngineerAlexandra Wynne

New Civil Engineer
Alexandra Wynne