M6 new lanes "most expensive road" - 31-07-2007 - 10:57

Roadworks widening the M6 are "the most expensive roadworks in history" according to a social and environmental campaign group.

The work, which involves adding one lane to a 51-mile stretch of road between Birmingham and Manchester, is set to cost almost £3 billion.

According to the Guardian newspaper, this figure breaks down to every inch of the new road costing £897 before construction inflation is taken into account.

Once this upward pressure has been factored in, the cost per inch is likely to be over £1,000 claims the newspaper.

Rebecca Lush, who campaigns on the environmental and social impact of transport with the group Transport 2000 said: "This must be the most expensive roadworks in history. Britain is spending £13bn on new roads and next to nothing on reducing road traffic or railways."

There are at least two factors pushing the price up.

Engineering consultant Roger Bailey, of Faber Maunsell said: "In a greenfield site you are in control of your construction planning. But on a live road you have to work round more traffic."

The massive construction works created by the Olympics are also pushing up the cost of construction according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

A spokesman told the newspaper: "The price of construction is going up because there is a lot of work around. Road building is an international market. In the last ten years costs have gone up 7-9 per cent a year."

Tube Lines expect to declare interest in Metronet partnership - 23-07-2007 - 16:11

London Underground contractor Tube Lines is believed to be interested in bidding for a partnership available after the collapse of rival firm Metronet.

Despite Tube Lines having declined to comment on the issue, the group is expected to make an announcement, with mayor of London Ken Livingstone saying that he expected an interest to be declared.

Tube Lines' interest may stem from the collapse of Metronet last week after the group had taken on £17 billion to renovate parts of the Tube network, a process which would have created a number of construction jobs.

Despite Metronet's debt, the group will not be expected to have to repay its £2 billion debt, with the repayment being passed on to Transport for London.

However, Metronet's demise could cause concern for London's 2012 Olympic Games, with a £30 billion upgrade of the network having been mooted, which would have created a number of construction jobs.

Poland plans motorway build on rare environmental spot - 19-07-2007 - 12:11

The European Commission could be set to prevent construction firms in Poland from building a motorway through a protected wildlife area.

A spokesperson for the commission, Barbara Helffereich, said that it was currently contacting the government to ascertain whether it would be commencing work on the motorway from August 1st.

The commission has announced that it would ask the European Court of Justice to intervene if work went ahead in Poland after the moratorium ended at the beginning of August.

Creating a number of construction jobs in the area, the motorway would link Poland's capital Warsaw to Helsinki in Finland through the Baltic states.

However, it would also pass through the Rospuda Valley, a peat land which is home to rare plants and animals.

Protected under the EU's Natura 2000 network, the area is deemed to have special environmental significance, although Poland believes it is not contravening any rules in its mooted development.