Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
07 October 2002

            BALFOUR BEATTY AWARDED £132 MILLION A3 ROAD SCHEME



Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
announces today that its subsidiary, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, has been
awarded the £132 million A3 Hindhead road scheme in Surrey under an Early
Contractor Involvement (ECI) design and build contract, for the Highways Agency.



This is only the second such contract let by the Highways Agency.  The first,
the A303 Stonehenge Improvement contract, was awarded to a Balfour Beatty joint
venture earlier in 2002.



Commenting today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Mike Welton, said:  'We are
delighted to have been selected for these projects under the Highways Agency's
new arrangements, which will bring about major benefits for the travelling
public, the local communities involved and the environment.  We look forward to
working in partnership with the Highways Agency in the design and planning
processes and to delivering the schemes.'



Transport Minister, John Spellar, said: 'The A3 at Hindhead is an important
scheme which will tackle congestion and safety issues and improve the
environment on this busy road.  It will complete the missing link in the dual
carriageway between Greater London and Portsmouth.  At the same time the Agency
and its new contractor will take great care to minimise the effect on the
environment.  This is one of the Government's Targeted Programme of major road
schemes which will lead to safer, more reliable journeys for motorists.'



The new ECI contract is a Highways Agency innovation which involves the
contractor much earlier in the life of the scheme to prepare the design and
assist with the statutory processes ready for the publication of draft Legal
Orders and an Environmental statement.  It facilitates the process of addressing
environmental impacts at an early stage and builds in cost-effective innovation
before the scheme is fixed.



Plans for the Hindhead project comprise a 6.5 km dual two-lane carriageway
between Hammer Lane on the Surrey Hampshire boundary and Boundless Lane near
Thursley.  Twin bored tunnels will take the A3 under a Site of Specific
Scientific Interest (SSSI) adjacent to the Devil's Punchbowl.





Enquiries to:

Tim Sharp

Tel: [phone]

www.balfourbeatty.com




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