The Government has published its updated National Infrastructure Pipeline, which shows that planned infrastructure investment has now increased to £383 billion up to 2020 and beyond.
The Pipeline, which is converted in to an interactive map format by leading construction intelligence specialists Barbour ABI, has increased from more than £375 billion when it was last updated in December.
Published in an online portal, the Pipeline is designed to increase the visibility of future infrastructure investment in both the public and private sectors. It is reviewed every six months to ensure new opportunities are reflected and more details are provided as they emerge.
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, last week announced the award of a £129 million scheme to upgrade a 13.4 mile stretch of the M3 through Hampshire and Surrey to a ‘smart motorway’. The upgrade, for the UK Government’s Highways Agency, will increase capacity, reduce congestion and shorten journey times for the 120,000 motorists who pass through this part of the network every day.
The M3 between Junction 2 (interchange with the M25) and Junction 4a (Fleet) will be upgraded to a four-lane motorway by converting the hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Electronic signs, operated by a regional control centre, will be installed to manage the flow of traffic in response to driving conditions.
The contract is the latest in a series awarded to Balfour Beatty since the company was appointed to the Highways Agency's National Major Projects Framework in 2010. In June 2014, Balfour Beatty was awarded the £184 million M60 J8 to M62 J20 smart motorway scheme.
In April 2014 the company’s construction joint venture with Skanska completed upgrading a 12 mile stretch of the M25 to a smart motorway, and in January 2014 Balfour Beatty completed upgrading parts of the M4 and M5 to a smart motorway in an £88 million scheme.
