Road to improvement

, the UK-based engineering and construction group, has announced that it will begin major roadway and structural infrastructure projects worth £300m in October 2009.

The company will work with UK engineering-and-development consultancy Mott MacDonald over the next five years to maintain and improve 126km of motorway, 324km of trunk roads, two tunnels and 850 structures across Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex.

The companies were appointed by the Highways Agency to deliver network services in Kent and Sussex. After the initial five-year period, there is the option to extend the contract for a further two years.

Balfour Beatty was also selected by Norfolk County Council to work on the £127m Norwich Northern Distributor Road, a new road that will distribute traffic more effectively around the northern side of the city.

The Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract will be delivered by Birse Civils, a division of Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering.

Construction is expected to start in 2012 and will take three years to complete, following the development of the detailed design and completion of the statutory processes.