Amey McAlpine start £60m M6 Knutsford project

Preparatory work has begun on £60m motorway improvements being delivered by a joint venture between Amey and Sir Robert McAlpine in Cheshire.

The joint venture was awarded the £43m contract last year, which will see improvements delivered to junction 19 of the M6 near Knutsford on behalf of Highways England.

The project will see AmeySRM build a new bridge through the existing roundabout and over the M6, to connect to the A556 Knutsford to Bowdon bypass.

The main phase of construction is not due to begin until later this year, with the bridge foundations due to be laid in May and the bridge beam lifted into place in winter 2020.

Highways England said: “All preparation and construction work will be done in accordance with the latest government guidelines related to the Covid 19 outbreak. All Highways England sites have strict safeguarding measures to prevent the spread of the virus and no sites are open to the public.”

While Sir Robert McAlpine announced earlier this week the company would be furloughing most of its 2,000 members of staff in light of coronavirus restrictions on construction sites, infrastructure projects such as on roads are deemed to be essential work, with many arguing social distancing is easier to maintain than on construction sites for buildings.

Work is due to finish in 2021.