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Costain has been selected by Transport for London to work on a revamp of the A40 Westway dual carriageway and the Marylebone flyover. The route is used by more than 96,000 vehicles entering and exiting the capital each day. Costain has secured a £6m contract for a feasibility study and concept design on planned upgrade work. It will undertake a number of investigations of the 21 structures along the 4.6km of the route that runs through Kensington & Chelsea, Hammersmith & Fulham and the City of Westminster. Costain will assess the condition of key parts of the existing structures and identify the potential scope for future refurbishment work. The investigation works will take place in the summer. The feasibility study will take around 10 months to complete after which…

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South Wales-based scaffolding and cladding specialist SHS Group has called in administrators with the loss of over 150 jobs. Smith founded SHS nearly 20 years ago The group, which operated mainly in the industrial sector from offices in Barry, Doncaster and Port Talbot, had been struggling with losses for several years. This was mainly down to poorly performing contracts within its cladding and HVAC insulation divisions. SHS’s management was winding down the insulation business to concentrate on scaffolding and cladding, but ran into severe cashflow problems. Founding director Paul Smith had explored several options in order to secure the future of his group, either via a re-finance or a sale of the business but failed to secure a deal. The group has now ceased trading while administrators…

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The opening of Carillion’s £335m Royal Liverpool University Hospital job has been delayed again following construction problems. Work on the site was temporarily halted in January when cracks were found in two concrete transfer beams Now Aidan Kehoe ,chief executive at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, said they “are planning to move by Summer 2018.” Carillion is expected to now hand the building over next February compared to an original handover date of March 2017. A Carillion spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the opening of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital has been delayed. “The construction of such a building on a brownfield city centre location is a very complex process and we have encountered some issues which have unfortunately led to a delay in the…

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The opening of Carillion’s £335m Royal Liverpool University Hospital job has been delayed again following construction problems. Work on the site was temporarily halted in January when cracks were found in two concrete transfer beams Now Aidan Kehoe ,chief executive at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, said they “are planning to move by Summer 2018.â€� Carillion is expected to now hand the building over next February compared to an original handover date of March 2017. A Carillion spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that the opening of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital has been delayed. “The construction of such a building on a brownfield city centre location is a very complex process and we have encountered some issues which have unfortunately led to a delay in the…

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BOSCH GCL 2-50 C + GCL 2-50 CG Professional – for more fun on construction sites! Measuring with an inch ruler, a guideline or hand drafted lines is dreadful and not always precise. But this is a thing of the past – thanks to modern laser technology. The up-to-date pro uses a handy combi laser, which is not only easier to use but relieves day-to-day work immensely. And because laser measurements are done in a matter of minutes, if not seconds, there is always enough time for some fun on site. –   For professional craftsmen of any trade the GCL 2-50 CG and the GCL 2-50 C are a real treat! They support you and your work in so many efficient ways. Both lasers are operated with …

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Laing O’Rourke has been fined £800,000 after a worker was killed by a dumper truck driven by his brother at Heathrow Airport. Southwark Crown Court heard how Philip Griffiths died in October 2014. His brother Paul accidentally reversed into his 38-year-old sibling when the pair were trying to move a broken down scissor lift on a service road, while working for Laing O’Rourke. Paul Griffiths tried to tow the scissor lift away using a dumper truck under the direction of managers. During the attempt his foot got stuck between the brake and the accelerator and the truck reversed. Philip, who was standing between the two vehicles, suffered crush injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An HSE investigation found that neither worker was authorised with the …

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Laing O’Rourke has been fined £800,000 after a worker was killed by a dumper truck driven by his brother at Heathrow Airport. Southwark Crown Court heard how Philip Griffiths died in October 2014. His brother Paul accidentally reversed into his 38-year-old sibling when the pair were trying to move a broken down scissor lift on a service road, while working for Laing O’Rourke. Paul Griffiths tried to tow the scissor lift away using a dumper truck under the direction of managers. During the attempt his foot got stuck between the brake and the accelerator and the truck reversed. Philip, who was standing between the two vehicles, suffered crush injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. An HSE investigation found that neither worker was authorised with the …

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House builder Redrow has walked away from talks to merge with Bovis Homes after an initial approach was rejected by the southern house builder. This morning Redrow said it would not be in its shareholders’ best interests to increase its proposal above the level which was rejected by the board of Bovis. Its share and cash offer would have given Bovis a 32.4% stake in a merged house building business. The move leaves Galliford Try as the last remaining bidder still in discussions although its initial approach was also rejected by the Bovis board. Galliford Try’s current offer values Bovis at £1,191m and would make Galliford Try the 52.25% majority shareholder in the merged group. Under City takeover rules the firm now has until April 9 to…

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Bouygues/Laing O’Rourke has got the go-ahead to start pouring concrete on the first key structures for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. The Office for Nuclear Regulation has approved first structural concrete for the ‘technical galleries’ of the power station. These are a series of underground reinforced concrete structures to be located beneath the site and some above-ground structures, connecting services such as cooling water and electricity to the two reactor units and other structures. Up to now the on-site construction activities have been limited to preparatory and enabling works, including the construction of several concrete batching plants and aggregate stores. Following First Nuclear Safety Concrete, the site workforce will grow rapidly to several thousand. Mike Finnerty, Director of ONR’s new reactors…

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Plans for two major new office blocks at the Newcastle Science Central site have moved forward with the appointment of Ryder Architecture. The site covers 24 acres Ryder will now work up designs for the first 100,000 sq ft building which will be followed by a similar sized second block. The office towers will form the gateway to the £350m Newcastle Science Central site which is being developed by Legal & General Capital, Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University. Sir Robert McAlpine picked-up the latest job on the site for the £29m Learning and Teaching Centre project for the University which is due to start in September. McAlpine also finished the flagship Core building on the site more than two years ago while Bowmer & Kirkand…

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