Mersey Gateway Project

FCC, a Spanish infrastructure and environmental services group, has secured a €700m contract to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the Mersey Gateway Bridge in Liverpool, UK.

FCC will construct the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, which will measure over 2km in length, including accesses, stretching to the east of the Silver Jubilee Bridge.

The bridge, which will be able to carry around 80,000 vehicles a day, will mark FCC’s largest ever project in the UK.

The construction of the cable-stayed bridge, which will be 42m wide with a maximum height of 125m and built with reinforced concrete, is expected to begin in late 2013, and take around three and a half years.

The project also includes upgrading 7km of access roads, building 2.5km of new toll roads, as well as upgrading 4.5km of toll roads, along with other communication links.

"The bridge, which will be able to carry around 80,000 vehicles a day, will mark FCC’s largest ever project in the UK."

A multi-lane free-flow tolling system will be deployed in order to read number plates automatically without the need for traffic to stop.

The construction, operation and maintenance of the Mersey Gateway Bridge will create 4,600 direct and indirect jobs.

The Mersey Gateway Project will be one of the largest infrastructure initiatives in the UK over the coming years.

FCC Construccion UK and Ireland managing director Rafael Foulquie said that the company has been expanding its UK operations steadily, and to be selected for this project is a huge step for FCC, not just in terms of infrastructure but also economically.

"This is FCC Construccion’s second PPP project in the UK, and we are delighted to have succeeded with our design that is both innovative and cost effective. We are looking forward to being a part of the substantial benefits the new bridge will bring locally, both in terms of local employment and urban regeneration," Foulquie added.

FCC Construccion, a part of the infrastructure and environmental services multinational FCC Group, carries out civil works, residential and commercial construction for both the public and private sectors and concessions.

Image: The Mersey Gateway Project will be one of the largest infrastructure initiatives in the UK over the coming years.