The Victorian Government has released the shortlist of construction firms selected to tender for the design and construction of Melbourne’s $5.5 billion Western Distributor.
This week, Victorian Minister for Roads Luke Donnellan announced, following a rigorous expression of interest process, a John Holland and CPB Contractors consortium, a Lendlease Engineering and Bouygues Construction joint venture, and an international consortium of Salini Impreglio, Fluor Australia and Lane Worldwide Infrastructure as the consortia shortlisted for the tender.
“We have a world class field of tenderers and we want their expertise to create the best solution for the local community and the 200,000 motorists that use the West Gate Freeway every day,” said Mr. Donnellan in a statement.
“This project will slash travel times by up to 20 minutes from the west, get 6000 trucks off local streets and create 5600 jobs.”
The constructors will now prepare fully costed designs for the Western Distributor, which includes the widening of the West Gate Freeway, a tunnel under Yarraville, a second river crossing, and connections to the port, CityLink and the city.
A reference design, which will account for feedback from consultation with local government, residents, businesses and the freight industry, is being developed, and will be assessed through the Environmental Effects Statement process.
The contract is expected to be signed by late 2017 and construction will commence soon after.
The project is anticipated to be completed in 2022.