New Busway Firm Chosen

30 December 2010, 12:22 | Updated: 30 December 2010, 12:33

A new company has been appointed to finish off work on the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway.

Jackson Civil Engineering, based in Ipswich, will fix what Cambridgeshire County Council calls "six outstanding defects" with the busway.

It's understood that the current contractors, BAM Nuttall, does not acknowledge that these "defects" are in fact problems.

Bob Menzies Cambridgeshire County Council's Head of Busway Delivery, said: "Once BAM Nuttall complete the rest of their works and finally hand over the route to the Council they will have 28 days to correct all notified defects.

If, as we expect, they do not correct the outstanding defects on the northern section Jackson Civil Engineering will step in and carry out the necessary works and the costs will be deducted from BAM Nuttall, not paid for by taxpayers.

Jackson's will also lay a blacktop surface on the cycleway between Milton Road and Longstanton while Cambridgeshire Highways add the blacktop to the southern section.

The timetable for the works being carried out will depend on when BAM Nuttall complete their works, but we are already working with Jackson's and Cambridgeshire Highways to make sure the work can be done as quickly as possible.

The weather may play some part as you cannot lay the cycleway with snow on the ground."

The busway, which will run between St Ives and Cambridge and parallel to the A14, was supposed to open in April 2009.

BAM Nuttall is being deducted around £14,000 a day for each day the project is delayed.

The firm has also been deducted around £238,000 for failing to hand the busway open to Cambridgeshire County Council before Christmas.

According to Cambridgeshire County Council, the six defects that need to be fixed are as follows:

  • River Great Ouse Viaduct Expansion Joints;
  • St Ives Park and Ride surface ponding;
  • Maintenance track flooding;
  • Guideway shallow foundations;
  • Thermal expansion gaps between the guideway beams;
  • Rubber tyre infill between the guideway beams.