5 Tenders Invited for Early Contractor Involvement On M40/A404 Handy Cross Junction Improvement - 18/02/2003

South East Press and PR Team
18/02/2003

Progress towards the £9 million M40 Junction 4/A404 Handy Cross junction improvement at High Wycombe is to be speeded up as the Highways Agency invites five companies to tender for an early design and build contract.

The successful contractor will be involved in the full design of the works and will take the scheme through statutory procedures that include publication of an environmental statement, a public inquiry if necessary, through to final construction. The early design and build procedure will avoid a lengthy tendering process preceding construction.

The Agency aims to appoint a contractor by mid-Summer 2003 so that the designs can be completed by December 2003. It is hoped work will start on site by December 2004.

The scheme consists of a new link road through the roundabout to segregate local traffic and through traffic, a new dedicated left turn slip road between the A404 northbound and M40 westbound to allow traffic coming from the south to go west on the M40 and avoid the roundabout, additional lanes to the M40 slip roads accessing the roundabout to improve access to and from High Wycombe, and an additional lane from the A404 southbound to the M40 eastbound.

The likely construction period will be about 18 months, with a possible completion in Summer 2006.

Highways Agency Project Manager Phil Barnett said
“There is a lot of local support for this scheme because it will benefit local and long distance traffic. Local traffic will be segregated from long distance traffic that uses the A404 to and from the motorway, and access to and from High Wycombe will be improved. As a result there will be shorter queues and less congestion.

“It saves time to involve a contractor in both the design and construction of such a major scheme. The fact that the contractor is involved early means that the Agency does not have to go through another selection process, paving the way for the contractor to get on with the preparation work prior to construction.”