Following Mace's appointment to Lot 1 of the £420m National Highways framework for commercial and project management services in 2021, the company has been appointed as the Complex Infrastructure Programme (CIP) Commercial Partner on the delivery of both the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements, and the A303 Stonehenge between Amesbury and Berwick Down dualling scheme.
Mace's work will involve delivering commercial services including cost consultancy and quantity surveying, as well as acting as a liaison between National Highways and its main contractors.
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National Highways' CIP is focused on delivering more complex and higher value improvement schemes, focused on nationally important infrastructure.
The work on the A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements will see the construction of a new 10-mile dual carriageway and further junction improvements. The road is an important link between the communities of Bedford, St Neots, Cambridge and Cambourne, and is currently used by around 25,300 vehicles every day, with numbers expected to grow in the coming decades. Upon approval the project will cut journey times and reduce congestion on local roads between Milton Keynes and Cambridge, bolstering long-term growth in the region.
The improvements on the A303 Stonehenge Amesbury to Berwick Down will reunite the landscape through the World Heritage Site, creating a new dual carriageway with a tunnel and significantly reducing traffic through the area. The proposed work aims to unlock the south west, improving connections and creating faster, safer and more reliable journeys. The changes will also introduce significant environmental benefits, including creating new chalk grassland and enhancing biodiversity across the site.
