Author Archives: Rob Hakimian

Network Rail and Kier have indefinitely delayed the replacement of a railway bridge as part of a £161m upgrade to Oxford Station.  The replacement of the bridge over Botley Road had been due to take place at the end of July, but has now been paused due to delays in…

The cost of the Morgan Sindall-led overhaul of Old Street Station and roundabout in east London has risen by £20m. A freedom of information (FoI) request submitted by Construction News’ sister magazine New Civil Engineer has revealed that the project has cost over £103m to date and is expected to…

Environmental campaigners have launched a legal challenge against transport secretary Mark Harper’s decision to approve Balfour Beatty’s A57 Link Roads scheme. The upgrade involves building a new 3.2km bypass between Manchester and Sheffield that would run from the roundabout at the end of the M67 to a new junction on…

Carbon emissions from cement and concrete in 2020 were 22% below the 1990 level, according to new industry data, an improvement on 2019’s figure of 19.2%. The figures were released by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) a year on from the launch of the body’s Net Zero 2050…

Contractors have been alerted to a £81m highways maintenance works contract in the London Borough of Brent. The scheme is split into two lots. Both will begin on 1 April 2023, for an initial seven-year agreement, which could be extended for a further three years at one-year increments, subject to…

The Department for Transport (DfT) has scrapped a 13-mile stretch of the proposed HS2 route. HS2 minister Andrew Stephenson confirmed the Golborne Link will be removed from the HS2 phase 2b bill, connecting Crewe and Manchester. The 13-mile link would have seen trains taken off the main route before Manchester…

A legal challenge mounted against the expansion of Southampton Airport has been thrown out by a High Court judge. Justice Holgate has ruled that Eastleigh Borough Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a runway extension at Southampton Airport was not unlawful and therefore will not undergo a judicial review.…

Tunnellers digging HS2’s Chiltern tunnels were trapped for 13 hours after a fire broke out on Tuesday night. HS2 Ltd has launched an investigation into the fire near the Chiltern Tunnel South Portal site in Rickmansworth, just inside the M25. The fire was on a vehicle that transports workers into…

The opening date for the Elizabeth line has finally been set, after months of speculation. The line, aka Crossrail, will open to the public on 24 May. It was previously slated to open in December 2018, but was delayed in August 2018, and it has been subject to continual setbacks…