Colas Wins Major Manchester Highways Scheme

Colas has won a £6 million contract to design and build a major strategic roads scheme in Manchester. This is a really significant highways win and is just the latest in a series of important awards for our business. From the far North to the South coast, and points in between, Colas has overcome stiff competition to be awarded key local authority contracts and places on major frameworks.

Multiple recent wins

In addition to this latest win, we were recently awarded a place on Liverpool City Council’s new four-year framework. This came after successful wins on the Warwickshire construction framework, the YORcivils2 framework, Gatwick Airport’s prestigious Low Complexity Framework, Leeds Highway Works Term Contract, Highways England’s Area 10 Construction Works Framework and Highways England Areas 13 and 14. We are also working on a major lighting scheme in Brighton and Hove and, of course, Colas has the major Portsmouth partnership arrangement.

Commitment to the North-West region

Our CEO Carl Fergusson said: ‘This award underlines Colas’s strategic commitment to the Manchester Framework and North-West region. ‘By securing work within the design and build infrastructure arena, yet again Colas UK demonstrates the strength and depth of our expertise and capability.’

Emphasising the strength of the Colas offer, Mr Fergusson added: ‘We presented a cost-effective, collaborative approach backed by an excellent, well-qualified team. As a business, we work well with our local supply chain partners to deliver an innovative, can-do service, which played a major part in securing this project. Crucially, Colas is also committed to recognising social value and working sustainably.’

Mancunian Way and Princess Road junction enhancement scheme

This latest project is defining for Manchester. The Mancunian Way and Princess Road roundabout junction enhancement scheme, to the south of the city centre, was awarded by Manchester City Council and will transform the roads in the area. The contract was awarded under Manchester’s Highways & Infrastructure Construction Works (Lot 8). Work on the 40-week project has already started. The project includes extensive highway civil engineering, and green initiatives from wildflower planting to noise and air quality assessments.

As part of the scheme, the existing roundabout will be converted into a signalised roundabout with the introduction of two new links, northbound towards Medlock Street and eastbound towards Mancunian Way East. The speed limit is proposed to remain at 30mph. Pedestrian and cycle facilities will be provided to improve the accessibility between the city centre and neighbourhoods to the south of the city. The facilities will be a mixture of segregated pedestrian/ cycle tracks and shared-use spaces.