EC Harris wins Forth bridge contract

EC Harris has been appointed to provide management services on the £4.2bn Forth Replacement Crossing in Scotland.

The consultancy forms part of the Arup-Jacobs consortium, which was nominated by Transport Scotland to oversee the construction of a new bridge over the Firth of Forth.

EC Harris will provide budgetary, risk and programme management services. A consortium team will be based at Transport Scotland’s Glasgow offices next to the companies’ own local teams.

In December Scottish ministers confirmed plans for replacing the 40-year-old road bridge, which was vital for maintaining the a link for the economies of Fife, Edinburgh and the East coast of Scotland.

At the same time, Balfour Beatty has secured a £74m contract with Network Rail to continue providing refurbishment work on the existing Forth Rail Bridge. The company’s engineering arm has been overseeing restoration and paint work on the bridge for the past six years and will continue the contract until 2012.

Balfour Beatty’s chief executive, Ian Tyler, commented: “We are delighted to be continuing our operations for Network Rail on the Forth Bridge. Working on this iconic railway structure presents a number of unique challenges. However, together with Network Rail, we will be able to build on our long-term partnership to complete this challenging and fundamentally important work. By 2012, the bridge will be fully restored to its original condition.”