Vinci Concessions, a unit of French construction firm Vinci, has been selected by France’s ministry for ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing (MEDDTL), as the preferred bidder for the €750m A355 western Strasbourg bypass.

The contract will run for 55 years and covers the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a new 24km section of toll motorway. The scope of work will initially involve the building of a two-lane dual carriageway section, which may be widened to three lanes in each direction without additional land in the future.

The development will involve the building of a bypass around Strasbourg to the north and west through the Kochersberg region, linking the A4 to the A35/A352 junction.

Upon completion, the A335 will be a 24km dual-carriageway section between junctions A4/A35 and A35/A352, known as the Strasbourg great western bypass (GCO).

Work is scheduled to take 52 months to complete, after which time the toll road is expected to relieve the A35 of transit traffic.

The design-build joint venture will consist of companies from the Vinci’s three contracting business lines in Vinci Construction, Eurovia and Vinci Energies.

Operation and maintenance of the section will be carried out by Vinci Autoroutes; the concession operator’s remuneration will come from the tolls collected.