The Balfour Beatty/Costain JV that has won the US$175M Stonehenge tunnel contract will undertake the project under an innovative ‘Early Design and Build’ format. This means that the scheme’s delivery team has been created at a much earlier stage than usual. “The use of this forward thinking style of contract allows the development of the scheme to benefit both from the contractors experience and close dialogue with the scheme partners, encouraging more innovative solutions and improved consideration of environmental and archeological issues,” says the client, the Highways Agency. “It also encourages a shorter construction period, helping to speed up delivery, and reduce disruption to local activity during construction.”
