GRAHAM is set to land a £79.5 million contract to build the first opening road bridge over the River Clyde.
Councillors from Renfrewshire Council’s finance board have agreed to award the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside contract to the civil engineering specialist.
The project is jointly funded by the UK and Scottish Governments through the Glasgow City Region City Deal. It will be a twin-leaf swing bridge for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians from Renfrew to the boundary between Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire. Planning consent is already in place and construction is scheduled to start in spring with an estimated three-year timeframe to complete.
The contract will be finalised later this month following conclusion of the procurement process.
The scheme also includes riverside walking and cycling routes and a new road through Renfrew connecting the bridge to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS).
Renfrewshire Council said economic estimates in the final business case found the waterfront project could lead to 1,400 permanent posts and 950 temporary construction roles from the resultant £230 million in private sector investment expected to be attracted over the coming years.
The contract approval follows a procurement process over the last two years. GRAHAM will deliver the main construction and provide more than 100 community benefits including jobs, apprenticeships, and community volunteering activities.
Leo Martin, MD for GRAHAM’s civil engineering division, said, “We’re delighted to have been chosen to deliver the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project, including the River Clyde bridge, with our design partners Ramboll and Amey. The new bridge will provide a gateway to the area’s fast-growing manufacturing innovation district and help better connect communities with significant employment and development opportunities for what will be a transformational project for the Renfrewshire and Glasgow City regions.
“GRAHAM are specialists in delivering complex civil engineering projects and our innovative construction solution will minimise the carbon impact, while we will utilise our knowledge and experience from previous landmark bridge construction and installations such as the Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin and Carpenters Land Bridge in Stratford to ensure this key infrastructure scheme is completed to the highest standards, while ensuring we deliver a sustainable legacy and positive impact.”
