Bidding is open for a £78m design and build contract to improve safety on a major dual carriageway in Northern Ireland.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has invited contractors to tender for the A1 Junctions Phase 2 road improvements scheme.
According to the DfI, the A1 is a strategic road which carries 40,000 vehicles per day. It runs from Belfast via Lisburn and Banbridge to the border with the Republic of Ireland south of Newry, before continuing to Dublin as the N1/M1.
The Northern Ireland government has also highlighted that the road is one of its most dangerous, with 71 people killed on it during 2023. The project is part of efforts to reduce road deaths.
It will involve the design and construction of approximately 25.2km of the dual carriageway between Loughbrickland and the Hillsborough roundabout.
The job includes construction of four compact grade separated junctions and building a new northbound on-slip onto the A1 plus 21 “left-in left-out” junction arrangements. Another element includes construction of a link road .
Safety work includes closing all gaps within the central reserve plus installation of a continuous rigid central reserve safety barrier along the full 25.2km length of the scheme.
Technology upgrades include the installation of an intelligent transport systems (ITS) including electronic message signs, CCTV and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).
A total of 40 private accesses onto the A1 will also be stopped-up under the contract.
The work also includes installing pipelines, communication and power lines for airfields and railways.
Bids will be weighted 40 per cent for quality and 60 per cent for cost.
The tender is for a single lot and the contract is expected to run for 36 months.
The notice said that the contract may be suitable for economic operators that are Small or Medium Enterprises.
The deadline is 23 January 2025 and firms can register on the TendersNI portal https://etendersni.gov.uk/epps/
Separately, Northern Ireland infrastructure minister John O’Dowd today confirmed that the draft Environmental Impact Assessment report and statutory orders for the Newry Southern Relief Road scheme will be published on 21 January.
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Chris Smith