Australian mining and construction company Thiess has been awarded a $2.25bn M80 ring road upgrade alliance contract in the Tulla Sydney section in Australia.

The company will upgrade the road and improve traffic flow on the 8.4km-long Tulla Sydney section between the Tullamarine Freeway and Sydney Road.

The other improvements of this section include the upgrade of existing bridges, installation of an intelligent transport system and improvement of amenities.

Construction work will start in early 2010 and take two years to complete.

Thiess, along with its design partners VicRoads, Parsons Brinkerhoff and Hyder Consulting, will form the ‘Tulla Sydney Alliance’ to design, manage and deliver the works.

The M80 ring road facilitates freight movement between Melbourne, regional Victoria and interstate capitals by connecting corridors and major arterial roads.