The new contracts have a potential total value of approximately £500m and are the Trust’s largest award of waterway engineering works.
Covering the north and south of the network respectively, JN Bentley and Kier will carry out the largest restoration and repair projects and work on the Trust’s most complex assets such as reservoirs, embankments, culverts, tunnels and aqueducts. Work will include responding to dynamic situations, such as flooding or canal breaches.
In a statement, Malcolm Horne, chief infrastructure and programmes officer at Canal & River Trust, said: “Built 250 years ago as arteries of the Industrial Revolution, today Britain’s canals are the world’s finest network of working industrial heritage. They now play an equally important role in society as corridors for nature, tackling health inequalities and improving community wellbeing, as well as supporting jobs and local economies.
“The ongoing task of caring for the thousands of historic assets that make up this extraordinary infrastructure network requires a substantial programme of work.”
Horne continued: “We are also striving to ensure that the network is as resilient as possible to more extreme weather in the face of a changing climate, investing in reservoirs and other key assets to strengthen infrastructure for the benefit of canal users and neighbouring communities. Our contractors will play a vital role in ensuring the safety of the waterways and safeguarding their future, whilst enabling us to improve value for money and continuing to deliver an effective emergency response when required.”
The Trust is the third largest owner of listed structures in the UK, including 46 Scheduled Monuments. The new contracts will cover the charity’s 1,582 locks, 55 tunnels, 2,970 bridges, 281 aqueducts and 71 reservoirs.
The new contracts are awarded for a period of up to ten years from August 2022, with an initial term of four years, followed by extension options of a further six years.
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